Bigger, more diverse and more international: PMRExpo 2024 advances themes of the future
Leading European trade fair with clear visitor growth +++ Successful expansion of the themes Critical IoT, private 5G campus networks and cybersecurity +++ Summit provides impulses for the industry
PMRExpo 2024 presented itself as more dynamic than ever this year. In times of profound political, economic and technological changes, the trade fair provided pioneering impulses for the future of Secure Communications. In addition to solutions for authorities and organisations with security tasks (BOS) and for critical infrastructures (KRITIS), the focus also shifted increasingly toward the need for secure communication for industry. Over three days, 262 exhibitors presented their products and applications and drew around 5,500 visitors – ten percent more than in the previous year. Among the visitor groups with the strongest growth were Norway and Poland. The trade fair thus links up with the success of the previous year and has solidified its position as the leading European trade fair for Secure Communications.
"The increasing importance of key themes like Critical IoT, 5G technology and cybersecurity shows how dynamic and multifaceted the environment of Secure Communications is. The continuing development of PMRExpo 2024 in terms of content not only reflects these developments, but also actively advances them. The positive response from the industry confirms our path, which we, together with our conceptual sponsor, the PMeV, will consistently follow in coming years", says Oliver Frese, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse.
"The threats arising from cybercrime and physical sabotage are increasingly rapidly and endanger our critical infrastructures – the foundation of our society. From our perspective, security should not fail due to cutbacks. We need political decisiveness, clear regulatory frameworks and the necessary funding to make Germany and Europe more resilient and safer. PMRExpo this year once again impressively proved that it is the right place to work together to design the future of mission- and business-critical communication", according to Bernhard Klinger, Chairman of the Bundesverband Professioneller Mobilfunk (PMeV).
Further development strikes a chord with the industry
The exhibiting companies demonstrate impressively that the diversity of the industry encompasses not only existing technologies, but is also growing constantly due to bold innovations and new perspectives. This dynamic is also reflected in new and further-developed formats of PMRExpo: the special area "5G Hub for Private Networks" made the possibilities for the use of private 5G campus networks tangible through use cases for BOS, KRITIS and the industry and met with great interest. The Connecting Area convinced once again as the meeting point for networking and knowledge transfer with a strengthened focus on start-ups and a diverse programme.
The Hackathon contributed decisively to the development of solutions of relevance for the market and underlined the innovative power and potential of the industry. With the support of twelve national and international exhibitors, a creative space was created, in which future-oriented, AI-based approaches to solutions were developed – a strong sign for innovation and the promotion of the next generation.
The PMRExpo Summit 2024 provided clear impulses for themes of relevance for the future with the new focus on private 5G campus networks as well as the core themes of public safety, KRITIS and control centres and met with a great deal of visitor interest. An indispensable platform for the industry in terms of its content, the Summit convinced with an expanded range of themes and high quality speakers from industry, science, politics and public administration.
PMRExpo 2024 in figures
262 exhibitors from 25 countries took part in PMRExpo 2024. In total, around 5,500 visitors from 61 countries came to Cologne – a plus of 10 percent in comparison with the previous year. Among the visitor groups with the strongest growth were Norway and Poland.
Dates for PMRExpo 2025
The next PMRExpo takes place from 25 to 27 November 2025 in Cologne.