The Pacific Telecommunications Council will host its annual conference from Jan. 21-24 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, and CEO Brian Moon said he expects this year’s event to draw in thousands of leaders in tech.
“We actually bring together 8,000-9,000 senior executives from the tech industry,” he told PBN. “It’s a phenomenal event in the tech space.”
The conference, according to PTC’s website, is a “strategic springboard for the global communications industry, providing all attendees with a four-day platform to focus on planning, networking, and discovering what lies ahead for the [information and communication technology] industry.”
The agenda includes panel discussions, presentations, workshops, vendor exhibitions and networking.
Founded in 1978 with the goal of promoting information and communication technology in the Pacific, PTC is a global non-profit membership organization based in Honolulu. Moon said that it currently has more than 350 member organizations, ranging “from the major technology companies such as the Amazons, Microsofts, all the way to startups that are coming into the space.” PTC membership includes about 15-20 local businesses, he said.
The conference, Moon noted, is what PTC is most known for, and he said it is where telecommunications companies “hold business meetings that kick off the year and that set the tone for the rest of the year.” Plus, there is also educational programming, as well as networking opportunities.
“[Companies] will pre-schedule meetings that they need to have with their partners, potential new customers and clients,” said Moon, who joined PTC in 2022 after previously working at Consumer Technology Association, the organization that puts on tech conference CES.
The talks and panels will feature “CEOs and senior-level executives that are talking about trends, their vision and what the industry is going through,” Moon said. Additionally, there will be breakout sessions that Moon said will cover “every single topic in digital infrastructure.”
“We have very specialized sessions that we call topical sessions that are more in the weeds — we will go into what is the latest going on with data centers, satellite, fiber, AI, regulatory issues,” he said.
“Also, a lot of the beauty of the conference is the serendipitous opportunities that happen. Someone could be at Tapa Bar ordering a drink and they could meet a CEO who happens to be walking by,” Moon said. “I have heard many stories of those types of interactions happening, and so really the entire event is a networking event.”
As Moon sees it, the conference can help not only the attendees, but also the state as a whole. PTC estimates that the event could bring in up to $12 million in revenue to the state. Plus, Moon feels it could bring in future business, too.
“Bringing in decision-makers and senior executives to Hawaii not only brings them in a very comfortable location for them to conduct business and meet with their partners and clients, but it also brings them awareness to not only Hawaii but the Pacific Rim — and how strategic this part of the world can be for their business.”
For more information about the conference and to register, click here.
