On behalf of the Steering Committee, I welcome you to INTELEC® 2017 on the Gold Coast in sunny Queensland, Australia. INTELEC® has a long-held reputation as the premium international forum where emerging trends and key issues about powering communications resources are canvassed among academia, industry and infrastructure operators. ICT networks are no longer quarantined to traditional telecom carriers or data centres. Increasingly, large scale critical digital networks are designed and operated by a range of industries including Oil & Gas, Mining, Rail and Aviation.

Our theme, Driving Innovation in ICT Energy Infrastructure reflects the international reality that as research and technology developments continue to deliver never-ending convergence opportunities, innovation is the vital element for the delivery of reliable and resilient communications energy systems. INTELEC® 2017 will boast an exciting conference program of knowledge tutorials, presentations of research and developments, workshops and keynote addresses, to encourage engagement, dialogue, networking, and the sharing of ideas. And the technical program will be emphasized and reinforced with an Industry Exhibition showcasing the latest in power conversion equipment, energy storage options, and infrastructure integration design. Industry sectors facing the challenges of powering high-value ICT infrastructure will find INTELEC® 2017 a rich and valuable source of technical know-how and product information.