The challenges of 5G network deployment are multi-faceted and multi-layered, both figuratively and literally. Just the sheer number of technical factors that need to be considered can be mind numbing. For example, 5G’s extremely short mmWave signals have a much shorter effective range, are more susceptible to multipath distortions and local interference, and are also more severely attenuated by buildings, landscapes, and weather conditions. While technologies such as beamforming and MIMO transmission can surmount these problems, deploying them properly requires encoding and analyzing a much greater volume and granularity of spatial data points and details.

Network planning involves much more than engineering the deployment of the physical technology. The resulting network must be a robust and extensible platform for enabling current and future service offerings, which means planning and deployment are not one-time efforts. It is an ongoing, constant chase to identify and respond to infrastructure changes on the ground, network capacity requirements, and your customers’ ever-shifting service and Quality of Service demands.

This eBook explores how successful network planning and deployment depend on your ability to analyze huge volumes of raster file-based GIS data, in both spatial and temporal contexts.