Three major providers, network equipment supplier Nokia and HMD Global, the maker of smartphones under the Nokia brand name, are not coming to the Mobile World Congress. A Spanish newspaper reports that the organization will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday.
Finnish HMD Global lets you know to withdraw from the Mobile World Congress. The manufacturer planned to show new devices at a press conference the Sunday prior to the exhibition and would also be present with a stand.
The providers Deutsche Telekom, BT and Orange have also indicated that they are no longer coming to the stock exchange, just like Nokia. Earlier this week, many other companies have canceled. Intel, Nvidia, LG, Ericcson, Sony and Amazon, among others, are no longer on the stock exchange.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais the GSMA, the organizer of the exhibition, has an emergency meeting on Wednesday afternoon, in which it would be decided whether the exhibition planned for the end of February will still take place.
Wired claims that the GSMA wants to cancel the event, but the trade show organization would only want to do so after the Barcelona board declares a state of emergency, because then it can call on the insurance. According to the tech site, GSMA does not want to continue the event due to the many cancellations of companies and providers.
The passage of the telecom fair is at stake because of Covid-19, the new corona virus that surfaced in China last month and is causing unrest worldwide. Until now, the GSMA has consistently maintained in official reports that the trade fair is continuing according to plan. The organization did propose measures such as a no-handshake policy.
Update 14:47: Vodafone is also not going to the Mobile World Congress.
Update 2, 15:17: According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais the GSMA has decided provisionally to let the stock market continue, but that decision would be reconsidered on Friday.
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