Comms Connect Melbourne 2024: conference highlights

The Southern Hemisphere’s premier critical communications event, Comms Connect, has made a spectacular return to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre with a two-day conference and exhibition on 16–17 October, plus preconference workshops from the Australian Radio Communications Industry Association (ARCIA) and the Australasian Critical Communications Forum (ACCF) on 15 October.

The event came in the wake of several recent critical communications milestones — including the 10-year plan to expand and upgrade the FirstNet public safety network (PSN) 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. It was also held not long after Hurricanes Helene and Milton rocked North America, meaning the topic of disaster resilience was front of mind for many.

“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,” said Comms Connect Events Director Geoff Hird after the event’s conclusion. “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.”

 

According to Hird, Comms Connect Melbourne 2024 underlined the fact the critical comms sector is on a strong growth curve, one which shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

One thing’s for sure — Comms Connect will be back in 2025 to continue the discussion, with editions in Christchurch (June) and Melbourne (October).