Comms Connect Melbourne is go for October

It was heartening to see a successful live Comms Connect NZ last month in Wellington, and the program is filling up with headline speakers and other highlights for Comms Connect Melbourne, to be held at the MCEC, 19–21 October.

Headlining day one will be respected Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons from Resilience NSW, discussing the future of emergency and disaster management. The opening keynote will be followed by an update from the USA’s FirstNet CEO, Ed Parkinson, regarding the rollout of its First Responder Network.

Also featuring on day one is a ‘State of the industry’ leadership panel with the heads of ARCIA and ACCF/TCCA being joined on stage by public safety and critical comms leaders, plus public sector key players. Discussion will focus on the future of the critical comms and public safety sectors in Australia and the region.

The program will also include a ‘Black Spots’ panel session moderated by Scott Leyonhjelm of Nova Systems. A similar Comms Connect Virtual webinar last year saw a strong attendance at the live streamed event. Overall there are currently 18 speakers confirmed with more being added each week; check the full list here.

Other confirmed program highlights include:​

• a joint presentation on the fire and disaster infrastructure planning being undertaken by Data61 on the Western Sydney Digital Twin project with NSW Dept of Customer Service
• drone pioneer Jackie Dujmovic on the mission-critical role this new tech can play
• global smart cities guru Meredith Hodgman on how we can better build critical comms infrastructure into the cities of tomorrow
• an ACMA update on the many changes taking place this year to the Radiocommunications Reform & Modernisation Act.
   

If you are interested in becoming a part of Comms Connect as a sponsor or exhibitor, contact Narelle Granger: ngranger@wfmedia.com.au.

For speaking submissions, contact Mara Gonzales with a topic/speaker/abstract: mgonzales@wfmedia.com.au.