GSMA to Meet on Feb 14 to Discuss Canceling MWC 2021 in Barcelona
- The GSMA is reportedly meeting on the 14th of February to discuss canceling the scheduled Mobile World Congress 2020 in Barcelona.
- This comes as companies like LG, Sony, Amazon, and several others announced that they will not attend the event amid Coronavirus concerns.
- It’s likely that the GSMA will look to schedule the event for a later date.
Given that multiple manufacturers have already canceled their plans to attend the Mobile World Congress due to concerns about the Novel Coronavirus, the GSM Association or GSMA is expected to convene on the 14th of February to discuss the matter, while also potentially considering canceling the event altogether in light of recent events. It’s worth noting that some companies like Huawei who initially said they won’t attend, have now confirmed that they will be in attendance during the course of the event.
This report was originally covered by Spanish daily newspaper La Vanguardia, although the GSMA officials are yet to confirm this meeting. If true, however, the ramifications could be huge for the GSMA given that around 110,000 visitors were expected to be at the conference this year. Last year saw around 109,000 people visiting the event visiting from 198 countries, but things will definitely be different this year. Canceling the event will also have financial consequences with the report stating that the GSMA could incur losses of up to €492 million or around $537 million.
If the GSMA does convene on the 14th of February to cancel the event, it’s likely that the agency would want to reschedule the event for a future date. While this won’t avoid the losses they’re about to incur, it will make sure new technology in the mobile industry is showcased accordingly.
Over the past few days, we’ve seen companies like Amazon and Sony backing out of the MWC while LG took a call prior to that. Since the GSMA is not offering more information, we can only wait and watch.
Source: La Vanguardia
Via: Android Central