High energy and activity at largest ever Comms Connect

The Southern Hemisphere’s premier critical communications event, Comms Connect, returned to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre this week, with a two-day conference and exhibition on 16–17 October plus preconference workshops from ARCIA and the ACCF on 15 October.

The event came in the wake of several recent critical communications milestones — including the plan to expand the FirstNet public safety network in the USA, the recent RFI for Public Safety Mobile Broadband (PSMB) here in Australia, and the release of the Senate report into the Optus Network Outage — all of which were discussed in depth at the show. Indeed, the conference agenda was packed with presentations across the themes of Public Safety, Critical Comms and Industry — with speakers representing government, industry, telcos, first responders and more coming from as far as New Zealand, Hong Kong, the USA and Finland. Meanwhile, the exhibition floor housed dozens of vendors showcasing their wares, with a designated ‘demo hub’ featuring several product demonstrations over the course of the two days.

The ARCIA Industry Gala Dinner and Excellence Awards, held in conjunction with Comms Connect on the evening of 16 October, celebrated and recognised the achievement of several outstanding individuals, companies and projects in the Australian radio communications industry. Here Comms Connect panellist Geoff Spring, from The University of Melbourne’s Centre for Disaster Management and Public Safety, was granted a lifetime membership to ARCIA, while TCCA CEO Kevin Graham received the prestigious Jonathan Livingston Seagull Award.

Comms Connect Events Director Geoff Hird was thrilled with the outcome of this year’s show, stating, “We witnessed two days of high energy and activity in our largest ever expo space, with many exhibitors making extra effort to add colour and new design features to their custom stands. The conference rooms were also busy, with more than 300 delegates benefiting from the wisdom of more than 70 industry experts from across the region and the globe. Comms Connect Melbourne 2024 underlined the fact the critical comms sector is on a strong growth curve.”

Comms Connect will return in 2025 with events in Christchurch and Melbourne. For further updates, keep an eye on https://www.comms-connect.com.au/.