If autonomous vehicles are ever to become reality in Pittsburgh, a reliable 5G network will need to be at the heart.

The bedrock of autonomy isn’t independence but connectivity — real time information being passed from one self-driving car to the next.  

“When you talk about autonomous driving, a simple thing like kicking an orange barrel into the street is a problem,” said John Donovan, CEO of AT&T Communications, a subsidiary of the Dallas, Texas-based telecommunications company. “It’s certainly a problem for subsequent cars. [With 5G], information that the first car has can work its way back to the other cars very effectively.”  

That next-generation mobile internet connectivity — which will improve upon the current 4G LTE standard you’re used to seeing on a cell phone — will create the first real-time data network, Mr. Donovan said.

“With 5G, people don’t get why it’s so special,” said Mr. Donovan, who has been responsible for the company’s wireless and landline telecommunications; video service; satellite television, broadband; and more for just about one year. “But we’ve never experienced the capability of a real-time network,” he said.