The digital divide between metropolitan and regional Australia won’t be addressed purely by the NBN and improved broadband coverage.

5G networks promise to deliver substantial benefits in speed but for overall connectivity which powers economic opportunity, reduces isolation and improves our lifestyles, we need smarter solutions.

We need new thinking: new internet architectures; new connectivity options and better collaboration across the wide span of communication layers from 5G to satellite providers to edge data centres and big telco.

That’s why Leading Edge DC team is attending the PTC 2020 conference in January. We’ll be meeting with world leaders and innovators who are creating new technologies and bringing together new ideas across telecommunication, networks and data centres.

With over 7,900 attendees, the event this year is tackling “Vision 2020 and Beyond”, with a mix of telecommunication giants mingling with disruptive newcomers plus telecommunication research and policy leads.

Here are the top six sessions we’re most looking forward to:

1. The Impact of 5G: The Last Mile Doesn’t Need to Be a Wire in the Fast Lane

2. Building Cloud Optimised Network Ecosystem with Next Generation Satellite Systems

3. Connectivity for IOT – What are Your Choices?

4. Taking Data to the Edge

5. The Emerging Spectrum of Airspace Communications

6. Architectural Inter-relationships of Data Centres and Networks in the Edge Era

What would you do differently if you were building the connectivity infrastructure of the future?