This year, instead of the internet of things, 5G and 6G technology or folding phones, the hot topic at the 2020 Mobile World Congress (MWC) is being the coronavirus. The annual telecommunications fair brings together the best of mobile communication every year in Barcelona. It is considered the most important event in the world in its sector. However, this year, an unexpected factor – or unwanted attendee – is causing the encounter to be causing concern.
Coronavirus epidemic
Since the coronavirus made its appearance in Wuhan, the whole world has turned to knowing more about it, its expansion, its form of contagion … and, despite the fact that the number of recovered patients increases every day, the concern about the increase in infections does not stop. The fact that the coronavirus is hovering over everyone’s heads is already having its impact on a world congress of such magnitude as this one, in which it is expected to affect attendance and harm exhibitors who invest millions of euros each year to advertise their products at the Fira de Barcelona.
The GSM Association , the commercial body of the mobile industry that organizes and obtains most of its income from this congress, is really concerned because the number of companies that have already announced that they will not attend the congress due to the fear of contagion of coronavirus, It does not stop growing.
Snowball effect?
First it was South Korea’s LG Electronics who announced its withdrawal from the world’s largest annual conference. Then the Swedish manufacturer Ericsson followed. This only further questioned the possible risk of attending the fair with the coronavirus (or 2019-nCoV) epidemic still in force. “The health and safety of our employees, customers and other stakeholders is our top priority,” explained Börje Ekholm, CEO of Ericsson, in a press release.
They have not been the only ones. Amazon, Nvidia, Asus and Sony will ultimately not attend the conference either. Huawei and Oppo plan to quarantine their executives for 14 days before MWC begins, and Oppo will check the temperature of every person attending their events for fever. The extent of ZTE’s involvement is also now in question. Samsung , the world’s largest smartphone maker, also plans to reduce its presence at the congress. It is possible that between now and the beginning of the congress, on February 24, other brands will follow suit due to the snowball effect. The fewer participants there are in an event, the less they want to be part of it.
Precautionary measures
The GSMA is taking numerous preventive measures to ensure the safety of the participants: a “no handshake” policy has been established to reduce the chances of contamination and they will clean and disinfect thoroughly every day, establishing “hygiene stations “to reassure and inform visitors.
Last year, more than 109,000 people from 198 countries arrived in Barcelona at the end of February to attend the MWC. This year it seems that the situation is clearly destined to reduce the numbers and the possibilities for digital companies to do business at the Barcelona event are decreasing. If the disease continues to spread (the spread of the coronavirus has had a domino effect around the world), the number of telecommunications executives traveling to Barcelona could decline further and, in the worst case, the Spanish authorities could follow suit. United States and deny entry to visitors from China.
Last minute
Intel has announced that it will not attend the mobile phone summit either. The avalanche of casualties continues. Cisco, the operators AT&T and Sprint, the social network Facebook, the antivirus firm Mcafee, Vivo, Mediatek, the Canadian Accedian and the Japanese giant Rakuten have also joined. The fear of contagion of the virus could finally force the cancellation of the event.
