MWC 2020 Canceled Over Coronavirus Concerns: Everything You Need To Know

While many companies announced backing out of the biggest mobile event, the organizing committee has finally decided on the event itself. GSMA has just announced to pull the plug on the MWC 2020 event. Major companies like LG, Sony, Cisco, and more had earlier backed out of the event over the fear of the deadly coronavirus.

"The GSMA has canceled MWC Barcelona 2020 because the global concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak, travel concerns, and other circumstances, make it impossible for the GSMA to hold the event," the organizing committee announced.

MWC 2020 Canceled

MWC has a record of holding the event for three decades straight. This is the first time GSMA is canceling the event in its history. The announcement comes as the latest blow to the tech world from the coronavirus. Multiple production units in China have stopped due to the virus, affecting the supply chain of companies like Apple, Amazon, Huawei, and more.

A lot of tech companies gather at the Mobile World Congress to unveil and launch their new products, making it one of the biggest events in the calendar. For instance, Huawei was supposed to launch the Mate XS, TCL with the TCL 10 series, Realme was set to announce the X50 Pro 5G, and so on.

GSMA Statement on MWC Barcelona 2020 from John Hoffman, CEO GSMA Limited https://t.co/aLwHF64ejJ pic.twitter.com/I3e7z6vwHE

— GSMA (@GSMA) February 12, 2020

The cancellation will likely mean that most of these companies will have a private launch event via press releases or an online event. Sony said it would hold a live video streaming event when it announced backing out of the MWC event. Reports say that a couple of other companies might delay their launches over coronavirus fears.

Impact On Tech Industry

The MWC event brings together more than 100,000 industry professionals, just like any other trade show. Thousands of high-ranking executives were expected to be there for press conferences and interactions. This would further encourage new deals between companies for further technological expansion.

The coronavirus epidemic is sure to have a tremendous effect on most of the companies worldwide. For now, the impact on consumers is limited, but if production halts continue, it could largely impact the market. The virus has already claimed more than 1,300 lives and reports of more people found positive with coronavirus are surfacing.