This paper proposes a new approach for communication networks planning; this approach is based on stochastic geometry. We first summarize the state of the art in this domain, together with its economic implications, before sketching the main expectations of the proposed method. The main probabilistic tools are point processes and stochastic geometry. We show how several performance evaluation and optimization problems within this framework can actually be posed and solved by computing the mathematical expectation of certain functionals of point processes. We mainly analyze models based on Poisson point processes, for which analytical formulae can often be obtained, although more complex models can also be analyzed, for instance via simulation.