By 2026 Ian Thompson Bursary Winner, Aoiffe Boyle, Leonardo
As a first-time attendee and exhibitor at Critical Communications World (CCW) 2026, I was immediately struck by the sheer scale of the event. Welcoming thousands of visitors from around the globe, the event featured over 200 exhibitors and speakers. With the UK Home Office serving as the host operator, conversations naturally centred on the evolution and implementation of public safety communications. On the exhibition floor, there was a shift from theory to reality. Success for exhibitors was no longer about pitching future concepts, but about delivering live demonstrations of multi-agency interoperability and resilience to those who need these tools today. Representatives from emergency services, government bodies, and commercial technology providers came together to experience live demonstrations of new devices and communication systems. The message from the floor was clear: deliver resilient, real-world interoperability to frontline responders.
One of the main themes of CCW this year was the transition from TETRA to broadband. Exhibitors throughout the venue demonstrated that the technology has matured, signalling that user organisations can confidently begin their migrations. Mission Critical Communications (MCX) has evolved steadily from basic Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT) capabilities into resilient, advanced systems optimised for 4G and 5G, with discussions already turning towards 6G.
Fundamentally, this infrastructure is built on a unified foundation. It was encouraging to see so many companies using 3GPP standards as the core building blocks of their systems, allowing for cross-vendor interoperability and liberating end users from traditional vendor lock-in. This collaborative ecosystem will be strengthened further by the recent European Critical Communication System (EUCCS) framework, which introduces consistent security, certifications, and common deployment approaches.
This standardisation has, in turn, directly shaped the hardware entering the market. The devices displayed on the exhibition floor combined broadband capabilities with the familiar ergonomics of traditional radios. To meet user organisations’ demands for reliability and longevity, suppliers showcased a wide variety of devices, ranging from ruggedised smartphones to dual-mode radios. These dual-mode devices were particularly popular, offering a single, future-proof solution to bridge the transition between TETRA and broadband.
Mirroring the wider technology sector, artificial intelligence (AI) was a major talking point throughout the event. While exhibitors agreed that AI must be deployed cautiously so that frontline operators can completely trust the data in life-or-death situations, companies are increasingly positioning AI as a tool to support human decision-making rather than replace it. Ultimately, the sector faces the challenge of balancing the new opportunities that 5G broadband, AI, and satellite solutions provide, while maintaining the reliability, security, and familiarity that users depend on every day.
For frontline responders, these architectural changes offer significant benefits. With a hybrid, dual-mode ecosystem, a paramedic entering a building with poor network coverage will be able to seamlessly switch from LTE to TETRA without a call dropping. Crucially, this handover must happen behind the scenes, without requiring any user intervention, allowing the first responder to focus entirely on the task at hand. Additionally, 3GPP-standardised systems mean that police officers and firefighters can communicate effortlessly when arriving at a shared scene, enabling more efficient multi-agency responses by removing data silos. This functionality provides emergency services with better context when entering a scene, allowing them to stream live body-worn camera footage or images of patient injuries directly from the field to their colleagues.
In the control room, switching to broadband will result in significantly higher volumes of data being generated. Rather than overwhelming dispatchers with raw data feeds and alerts during major incidents, artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) algorithms can help to filter out the noise. Rather than adding another standalone screen to an already busy environment, these tools are designed to integrate directly into existing Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems. We are already seeing this wider transformation in the UK, where the adoption of 3GPP-standardised, cloud-based tools such as Leonardo’s MC_linX Dispatcher reflects a growing move towards flexible, browser-accessible control room environments. Combined with AI-assisted decision support, these capabilities can ensure dispatchers are presented only with the critical information and anomalous alerts required to respond quickly and accurately.
The road ahead for the UK market requires turning these exhibition floor successes into nationwide operational realities. The transition will take time. TETRA networks will not disappear overnight, meaning agencies must navigate a multi-year period in which legacy and next-generation systems must coexist. Furthermore, the push for open 3GPP standards means public safety procurement must evolve. Agencies will need to move away from traditional single-vendor frameworks towards multi-vendor ecosystems. Finally, the greatest challenge moving forward will be cultural rather than technological. Building trust in AI-filtered data, automated network roaming, and these new capabilities will require changes in how organisations operate day to day. As we look towards the next phase of deployment, the focus must shift from proving that the technology works to building the trust and confidence required for personnel to rely on it in life-or-death situations.
View other News