HMD, Deutsche Telekom, BT, Orange, Vodafone and Nokia cancel MWC – Update 2

Three major providers, supplier of network equipment Nokia and HMD Global, maker of smartphones under the Nokia brand, 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 announces its withdrawal from Mobile World Congress. The manufacturer planned to show new devices during a press conference on the Sunday before the fair and would also be present with a booth.

The providers Deutsche Telekom, BT and Orange have also indicated that they will no longer come to the stock exchange, just like Nokia. Earlier this week, many other companies already canceled. Intel, Nvidia, LG, Ericsson, Sony and Amazon, among others, are no longer coming to the stock exchange.

According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, the GSMA, the organizer of the fair, has an emergency meeting on Wednesday afternoon, in which it would be decided whether the fair that is planned at the end of February will still take place.

Wired claims the GSMA wants to cancel the event, but the show organizers would only do that after the Barcelona board declares a state of emergency, because then it can sue the insurance company. According to the tech site, GSMA does not want to continue the event due to the many cancellations from companies and providers.

The passage of the telecom exchange is at stake because of Covid-19, the new corona virus that emerged in China last month and is causing unrest worldwide. Until now, the GSMA has maintained in official reporting that the fair is going ahead as planned. 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 provisionally decided to let the stock go ahead, but that decision would be reconsidered on Friday.