As expected during the build-up, the 19th edition of Comms Connect Melbourne delivered record attendance, high energy and stakeholder engagement at MCEC last week.

Over 1800 attendees (an event record), more than 90 exhibitors and sponsors, and 80 critical comms expert speakers gathered to make the Southern Hemisphere’s premier industry event a great success, which was highly valued by all who took part on the expo floor and attended the conference rooms. Pre-conference workshops from event partners ARCIA and ACCF were also well attended and proved a great entrée to the main course event on Wednesday and Thursday — with the ARCIA Gala Dinner & Excellence Awards mid-pointing the event on the Wednesday evening.

Innovation Partner Telstra, alongside Platinum Sponsors Hypha, JVCKenwood, L3Harris, RFI Technology Solutions and Tait Communications, again played a key role in delivering a great event for all who attended.

Keynotes from NEMA’s Bradley Creevey and CIN’s Shane Fitzsimmons, as well as topline contributions from NSW Telco’s Steven Issa, EcoSystm’s Louise Francie and global P25 guru Cheryl Giggetts, headlined the high-quality conference program that included leadership panel sessions on the topics ‘AI in Critical Comms’ and ‘Beyond LMR vs Broadband’.

Comms Connect now looks forward to Auckland — with dates now locked in at the shiny new NZICC venue for 25–26 May 2027. The flagship Melbourne event will return to MCEC on 13–14 October 2027.