By Bob Boster, President Clear-Com
ISE has always been a valuable pulse check for our industry, but this year felt particularly significant. Across the show floor in Barcelona, one theme came through loud and clear: production teams are being asked to do more, with fewer people, across more locations, and they expect their communication systems to keep up without adding complexity.
What also stood out was how much ISE continues to grow. While it remains a cornerstone for AV, systems integration, and installed markets, it is increasingly becoming an important broadcast show as well. That convergence shows how closely aligned these verticals have become, and it plays directly to Clear-Com’s strength in serving broadcast, live production, corporate, and installed environments with solutions that span all of them.
Simplicity at Scale Is No Longer Optional
One of the most consistent conversations we had with broadcasters, AV integrators, and live event professionals centered on workflow pressure. Teams are scaling up productions, adding remote contributors, and supporting hybrid environments, but they don’t want to sacrifice speed or clarity to do it.
That’s exactly why the debut of our HelixNet® 4-Channel beltpack resonated so strongly. Expanding from the familiar two-channel model, the four-channel beltpack gives users more simultaneous communication paths without forcing a rethink of how HelixNet systems are deployed or operated. The response was immediate and validating.
Winning Best of Show awards from both TVBEurope and AV Technology reinforced what we were hearing in real time: this wasn’t just a feature update, it was a practical solution to a real production problem.
Cellular Is Part of the Picture
Cellular came up more often than it has in past years. Not as a replacement for RF, but as another option teams are actively evaluating. As productions spread across more locations and rely on mobile staff, cellular is becoming harder to ignore.
We heard growing interest in how public and private LTE and 5G networks can support production communications, especially where RF coordination is difficult or coverage needs to extend beyond a single site. The focus was practical. Teams want to understand when cellular makes sense, where it does not, and how it can fit into existing workflows without adding risk.
Clear-Com’s experience with mobile and virtual intercom has shown that cellular can work well when it is used intentionally and with the right expectations. It offers flexibility and reach, but it also requires careful consideration around reliability, network conditions, and control. At ISE, those conversations were more grounded and informed than ever.
What stood out most was the shift in mindset. Cellular is no longer seen as experimental. It is being discussed as a complementary tool that can expand how teams communicate, especially in hybrid and distributed productions.
Flexibility Is the New Baseline
Another key takeaway from ISE was how much value customers place on flexibility, not just in system design, but in how people interact with intercoms day to day.
Continued interest in Arcadia® Central Station reflected that shift. Hybrid wired and wireless systems are becoming normal, not special cases. Virtual intercom tools like Gen-IC®, Agent-IC® mobile app and Station-IC™ are no longer limited to remote use. They are part of regular production workflows.
What also stood out was how often conversations turned to scale. Many customers came to the show realizing they’d outgrown their current Arcadia configuration and were actively looking to add capacity. The fact that Arcadia can be easily upgraded, scaling up to roughly 320 ports, resonated strongly, especially for teams planning future expansion without rearchitecting their system. Flexibility, in this context, was about growing without friction.
Wireless Still Matters, a Lot
The response to FreeSpeak Icon™ underscored that wireless performance is still a core priority, but not in the abstract. What resonated most was flexibility at the user level and efficiency at the system level. Having both a dense pack with 9 buttons and a more traditional 4-button pack clearly maps to how teams actually work, allowing productions to mix roles without compromise. Combined with higher channel density (up to 10 beltpacks per IPT), Icon supports complex workflows without adding infrastructure. The takeaway wasn’t about chasing new RF buzzwords; it was about giving productions the right mix of control, scale, and simplicity where it matters most.
Why These Conversations Matter
Trade shows are about more than product launches. They’re about listening. ISE 2026 reinforced that Clear-Com’s role isn’t just to innovate; it’s to simplify communication in an industry that’s growing more complex by the year.
The recognition we received for HelixNet is meaningful, but what matters most is that the solutions we’re building are aligned with how people actually work. When customers tell us, “This solves a problem we deal with every day,” we know we’re on the right track.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by our stand, shared their challenges, and helped shape what comes next. We’re already looking forward to continuing those conversations.