Coronavirus impact on MWC2020: A list of MWC Coronavirus related Exhibitor cancellations so far…
Breaking news! GSMA has officially cancelled MWC2020
Which companies have pulled out of MWC20? Will MWC be cancelled because of the Coronavirus? Who will not exhibit this year? Which Telcos have already cancelled?
GSMA have said that MWC Barcelona will still go ahead despite the recent outbreak of the new Coronavirus strain (nCoV). Today (Wednesday 12th) we’ve heard that in fact there will be an emergency meeting of the GSMA today instead. Several large companies have started to pull out of MWC due to concerns over the virus since last week when ZTE announced that that would not have their press conference but would still go ahead with a presence there.
Later, with the announcement of several large vendors (LG Electronica, Ericsson, Amazon and more) we’ve seen the number of companies choosing not to attend snowball. Most are citing the health and safety of their employees as their primary concern. Other companies are letting individual employees decide if they wish to still participate.
We’ve compiled a list of companies that we know have officially cancelled their plans to exhibit this year. We’ll continue to update it as we hear of more. If your company has pulled out please feel free to email us at covid19@deveo.net and we will include it on our list. We are also keeping a list of Telcos who have pulled out & updating it as we hear of more.
Wednesday 12/02/2020 D-12
Appsflyer: will no longer attend MWC20. “Having monitored travel advice from the World Health Organisation and evaluating all potential risks, the decision has been made to put the well-being and safety of its customers, partners and staff first.” The CMO added “#MobileWorldCongress is such a big deal for us, and for me personally, so withdrawing from it was a huge decision”
Ciena: “Ciena has cancelled its plans to attend the upcoming Mobile World Congress 2020 event due to growing concerns about the increasing spread of the novel coronavirus”
DeviceHub, Romania: have cancelled their participation in the show.
Nokia: have now pulled out of MWC20 “Nokia has taken the decision to withdraw from MWC 2020 after a full assessment of the risks related to a fast-moving situation.”
Ozmo: have decided to withdraw now.
Tuesday 11/02/2020 D-13
A10 Networks: have told us that they have withdrawn from the show.
Accedian: After careful consideration, we have taken the decision to withdraw from MWC 2020. This was not a decision taken lightly. We’ve been extensively following the development of the virus and the recommendations of the WHO, and we have come to the conclusion that we must take the necessary precautions to protect our most cherished and valued assets: our employees,” said Dion Joannou, CEO, Accedian.
AT&T, USA: They have pulled out of the show citing “We value our participation in important industry groups like GSMA and deeply respect the steps they have already taken to protect attendees. Unfortunately, the most responsible decision is to withdraw our participation from the event to safeguard our employees and customers.”
Cisco: “We have made the difficult decision to withdraw from Mobile World Congress… due to concerns about the current outbreak of Coronavirus”
Facebook: “Out of an abundance of caution, Facebook employees won’t be attending this year’s Mobile World Congress due to the evolving public health risks related to coronavirus”
Intel: The safety and wellbeing of all our employees and partners is our top priority, and we have withdrawn from this year’s Mobile World Congress out of an abundance of caution
Radwin: will not attend the event.
Spirent: “out of an abundance of caution and concern for the well-being of our employees, customers and partners, Spirent has made the decision to not participate in MWC Barcelona”
Sprint: will withdraw from the show “due to concerns around the novel coronavirus.”
Monday 10/02/2020 D-14
Amazon: the latest major companies to pull out of one of the world’s largest tech shows because of risks posed by coronavirus.
Amdocs: today announced it is prioritizing the health and safety of its employees, customers and partners and will not attend the GSMA’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020 in Barcelona
CommScope: “With the continued global threat of the Coronavirus, CommScope has made the decision to cancel our physical presence at Mobile World Congress 2020 in Barcelona.”
Dali Wireless: “Dali has come to the decision to pull-back on their international appearances, for the near term, at events such as MWC, the mobile communications industry’s premier event”
F5 Networks: Will not attend MWC20 this year.
Interdigital: “this year we were excited to show some groundbreaking demos including a working 6G platform…. nothing is more important to us than the health and welfare of our employees”
NTT DoCoMo: The company has decided to cancel the service considering the safety of partners. In addition, Kazuhiro Yoshizawa, President and CEO, was scheduled to give a keynote speech, but DoCoMo Public Relations has stated that it is “currently considering it.”
Sony: “we have taken the difficult decision to withdraw from exhibiting and participating at MWC 2020 in Barcelona, Spain.”
Umidigi: UMIDIGI officially decided to withdraw from #MWC2020
Sunday 09/02/2020 D-15
Viavi Solutions: “VIAVI has chosen to cancel participation in this year’s MWC Barcelona out of an abundance of caution and concern for our employees, customers and partners”
Friday 07/02/2020 D-17
Ericsson: “Ericsson appreciates that GSMA have done everything they can to control the risk. However, as one of the largest exhibitors, Ericsson has thousands of visitors in its hall each day and even if the risk is low, the company cannot guarantee the health and safety of its employees and visitors.”
Nvidia: “We’ve informed GSMA, the organizers of MWC Barcelona, that we won’t be sending our employees to this year’s event.”
Wednesday 05/02/2020 D-19
LG Electronica: “With the safety of its employees, partners and customers foremost in mind, LG has decided to withdraw from exhibiting and participating in MWC 2020 later this month in Barcelona, Spain.”
ZTE: “ZTE will participate in MWC20 Barcelona as planned, showcasing comprehensive #5G end-to-end solutions and a wide variety of 5G devices.”
Some practical advice from the CDC if you decide to attend:
- Wash your hands! Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze and then throw your tissue away in the bin.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces with a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
- If you have fever, cough or shortness of breath then stay home.
