The GSMA has cancelled Mobile World Congress, its flagship event scheduled for later this month in Barcelona. The industry group said "the global concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak, travel concern and other circumstances, make it impossible for the GSMA to hold the event".
The announcement follows a growing list of companies cancelling their participation in MWC due to concerns about possibly exposing employees or customers to the virus. The GSMA earlier tried to stem the concerns with extra preventative measures, including a 14-day quarantine for Chinese visitors, but this did not prove enough to reassure participants. Major companies such as Nokia, Ericsson and Deutsche Telekom said they would not attend.
Mobile World Congress has been held each year since 2006 as the premier trade show in the telecoms industry and one of the largest such events in the world. Over 100,000 participants from 200 countries were expected to attend. The cost of cancelling the event is estimated at over EUR 500 million.
