Coronavirus prompts Sony, NTT Docomo and Intel to pull out of world’s biggest mobile industry event
- US chip giant Intel and Japanese companies NTT Docomo and Sony join others that have withdrawn from MWC Barcelona because of the coronavirus outbreak
- MWC Barcelona, which will be held from February 24 to 27, is the mobile industry’s biggest annual gathering
Barcelona’s economy got a boost of around 470 million euros (US$515 million) last year from the event, according to estimates by organiser the GSM Assocation. The GSMA had no immediate comment.
Gremi d’Hotels de Barcelona, the city’s main hotels association, said coronavirus concerns had resulted in cancellations, but it was too early to quantify the impact on overall bookings.
China’s smartphone giants cut size of contingent to world’s biggest mobile show
And the region’s digital policy councillor, Jordi Puignero, told local radio station RAC1 the Catalan regional government was “taking measures so that everything proceeds as normal”.
“There is no reason to not attend,” he added.
Sources close to exhibitors said that if participants cancel, they would have to bear the cost. The GSMA, an industry association representing more than 750 mobile network operators and 400 companies, would only be liable if it calls off the event.
Sony and NTT Docomo said in statements they had withdrawn after taking into consideration the safety of customers, partners and staff. Sony said its launch event would be held via video.
NTT Docomo did not immediately confirm whether its chief executive, Kazuhiro Yoshizawa, would continue as a panel speaker.
US-Israeli software provider Amdocs also pulled out of the event on Monday.
“While we appreciate the precautionary measures put into place by the (organiser) GSMA, we believe the safest option is not to attend MWC 2020 in Barcelona,” Amdocs’ chief executive Shuky Sheffer said in a statement.
Chinese electronics company TCL said it was cancelling a press event, but would still attend MWC Barcelona and showcase new devices, while Norway’s Telenor said it was planning to cut the number of staff attending as well as reducing its programme.
GSMA said on Sunday that no one from China’s Hubei province, where the coronavirus outbreak began, would be allowed to attend, while visitors from China must prove they have been outside the country for at least two weeks before the event.
These measures add to earlier actions aimed at preventing the spread of the virus, including changing microphones between speakers and advising all attendees not to shake hands.
In 2019, some 6 per cent of MWC Barcelona attendees were from China, GSMA’s post-congress report showed. Most were from Europe, around 64 per cent, as were about 45 per cent of the exhibitors.
