The Melbourne event comes hot on the heels of Comms Connect New Zealand, which was held at Te Pae Convention Centre in Christchurch from 22–23 June. Over 450 comms industry professionals and vendors attended that event, which featured presentations from NZ Police, LandSAR, RSM, Aerospace Christchurch, Hilton Haulage, ioSphere IoT, WISPA NZ and many more industry experts. The co-located exhibition showcased the latest products and solutions from leading vendors from across the region, while the RFUANZ Gala Awards dinner held as part of the event saw over 200 attendees entertained by local celebrity Jason Gunn.

The October event — to be held at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre — will also feature something of a Kiwi presence, as the conference will welcome a keynote presentation and expert panel from New Zealand’s newly formed Public Safety Network. The Public Safety Network is the new communications service that will be used by New Zealand’s frontline emergency services responders — Fire and Emergency, Police, St John and Wellington Free Ambulance.

One of the leads in this integration project is Neal Richardson from NZ Police, who will be one of two keynotes to open the program for Comms Connect Melbourne on 20 October. His colleagues from PSN NZ will join him in a panel discussion at the event to cover lessons learnt, and positive outcomes so far achieved by the project. The second keynote speaker for 20 October is Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons from Resilience NSW, who will speak on the timely subject of the future of disaster management.

Managing Director of the NSW Telco Authority Kylie De Courteney will deliver the opening keynote on 19 October, following her recent presentation at Critical Communications World in Vienna in June; while the Hon Michelle Rowland MP, Minister for Communications, will formally open the event. The second keynote for 19 October will feature the CTO of the First Responders Network USA, Richard Reed, with an update on all things related to public safety comms from the other side of the Pacific.

Other conference sessions will cover topics including the use of drones for mission-critical applications and tower management; the cybersecurity implications and management challenges of IT/OT/IoT; updates from the DMR Association and the ACMA; 5G; and much more. To view the full conference program, visit https://melbourne.comms-connect.com.au/program/.

While the conference itself will be held from 19–20 October, industry partners ARCIA and ACCF will be offering pre-conference training workshops on 18 October. ARCIA will offer a morning session on power supply options for communications systems, including solar and battery options, providing students with the skills to be able to recognise and understand the key elements and components of a typical AC/DC radio communication power system. Attendees should be able to understand and identify the risks associated with live working on AC and DC systems and understand the correct procedures for managing those risks.

ARCIA will also offer an afternoon session on the fundamentals of private LTE/5G, providing students with the skills to be able to outline the key elements and components of a typical wireless broadband communication system. On completion students should be able to understand and identify the various elements associated with system design, including the relevant spectrum sectors that are associated with wireless broadband, and understand the potential outcomes that are relevant to all options.

ACCF will hold its training session on the latest innovations in critical LMR, critical broadband 4G/5G and control centres. The half-day workshop will feature 10 presentations on topics including global initiatives to support critical LMR/broadband transformation; moving from critical LMR narrowband to broadband technologies, or utilising both; integrated solutions and applications; and initiatives and global trends in control room solutions, standards, market forces and operational requirements. For more information and to register for the training workshops, visit https://melbourne.comms-connect.com.au/workshops/.

The co-located exhibition will meanwhile feature over 80 local and international vendors — headlined by event partner Nokia and platinum sponsors Hypha and Simoco Wireless Solutions — giving attendees the chance to get up close and personal with leading suppliers and their latest products. The exhibition hall will also host networking drinks on the evening of 19 October, which will be followed in the Convention Centre’s Sovereign Room by ARCIA’s Gala Dinner and Industry Excellence Awards.

With so much having changed in the world of critical communications since 2019, Comms Connect Melbourne provides a great opportunity to get back in the loop and connect with industry peers from near and far. It promises to be an event that is not to be missed — register now at https://melbourne.comms-connect.com.au/.