Updated, February 12, 2020 (14:33 GMT) As each day passes, more and more companies are withdrawing entirely from Mobile World Congress (MWC 2020).
It is getting to the stage that GSMA, the event organiser, must surely be considering the position of the event in general.
While we have been pumping out individual articles on each withdrawal, it has now reached the stage that it is easier to list the companies in one place.
Here are the companies that we know of who have pulled out or scaled back so far.
A10 Networks – Withdrawn
Out of the utmost caution and concern for the well-being of our employees, partners and customers, we have made the decision to pull out of MWC 2020 in Barcelona this year. The growing concern about the spread of the Coronavirus and the fact that there is no known vaccine at this point has driven the decision to keep our employees at home to reduce the risk of exposure from travel and large crowds.
While we are no longer traveling to the event, our leadership team is still available to meet with you, either locally or via video conference, to share what we have learned about best practices for hyperscale 5G security from some of the world’s largest mobile operators. You can schedule a meeting at our MWC Barcelona event page.
Accedian – Withdrawn
“After careful consideration, we have taken the decision to withdraw from MWC 2020. This was not a decision taken lightly. We’ve been extensively following the development of the virus and the recommendations of the WHO, and we have come to the conclusion that we must take the necessary precautions to protect our most cherished and valued assets: our employees,”.
Amazon – Withdrawn
Amazon will withdraw from MWC 2020 “due to the outbreak and continued concerns about novel coronavirus,”
Amdocs – Withdrawn
“In the face of the public health concern from the novel coronavirus, we are placing the highest priority on protecting the health of our employees, customers and partners,”
“While we appreciate the precautionary measures put into place by the GSMA, we believe the safest option is not to attend MWC 2020 in Barcelona.”
Appsflyer – Withdrawn
“The decision to cancel our attendance was made with a heavy heart, but with the welfare of many people in mind. Not just the fifty-plus members of staff who were scheduled to represent us in Barcelona and their many colleagues across the world, but our clients, customers and friends in the industry as well. While it is a tough decision to make, we know we’re doing what’s right given the available information. We look forward to coming back again in full force next year.”
AT&T – Withdrawn
After careful discussions and planning, we have decided that we will not participate in GSMA Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2020. We value our participation in important industry groups like GSMA and deeply respect the steps they have already taken to protect attendees. Unfortunately, the most responsible decision is to withdraw our participation from the event t safeguard our employees and customers
Ciena – Withdrawn
“We have been closely monitoring the situation and, in order to best safeguard the health and wellbeing of our employees, customers and partners, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw our participation in MWC 2020. We appreciate the extensive efforts and precautionary measures put in place by the GSMA, and we look forward to participating in future events with them,”
Cisco – Withdrawn
“While we are extremely disappointed that we cannot continue with this event as planned, we believe this is the right decision given the current circumstances. Cisco sincerely appreciates everything that [MWC] has done to protect the safety of its attendees, and we look forward to participating in future events. We continue to keep those directly impacted by this situation in our thoughts and prayers,”
Commscope – Withdrawn
“With the continued global threat of the Coronavirus, CommScope has made the decision to cancel our physical presence at Mobile World Congress 2020 in Barcelona,”
“This is not a decision our executive team took lightly, and although the likelihood of contracting the virus is low, we will not risk the health of our employees, nor the business impact that would result if a quarantine were ordered.”
Dali Wireless – Withdrawn
“This was not a decision we took lightly, but ultimately, it’s not worth us potentially exposing our employees to health and safety risks, or propagating the spread of the virus with international travel,”
“We have been following the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) announcements and recommendations, and feel that it’s safer to ground all non-essential travel for the time being,”
Ericsson – Withdrawn
“The health and safety of our employees, customers and other stakeholders are our highest priority. This is not a decision we have taken lightly. We were looking forward to showcasing our latest innovations at MWC in Barcelona. It is very unfortunate, but we strongly believe the most responsible business decision is to withdraw our participation from this year’s event.”
Facebook – Withdrawn
“Out of an abundance of caution, Facebook employees won’t be attending this year’s Mobile World Congress due to the evolving public health risks related to coronavirus,”
“We will continue to collaborate with the GSMA and our partners and thank them for their efforts.
HMD Global – Withdrawn
Health and safety of our employees, partners and media is our first priority. After carefully evaluating the situation, we have decided to cancel our MWC plans. We will get back to you soon with new date for introducing new awesome Nokia phones.
Intel – Withdrawn
“The safety and wellbeing of all our employees and partners is our top priority, and we have withdrawn from this year’s Mobile World Congress out of an abundance of caution. We are grateful to the GSMA for their understanding and look forward to attending and supporting future Mobile World Congress events,”
InterDigital – Withdrawn
“InterDigital has a very proud history at Mobile World Congress: over the years we’ve taken advantage of the event to unveil numerous world’s firsts in communications technology, and this year we were excited to show some groundbreaking demos including a working 6G platform.”
“However, nothing is more important to us than the health and welfare of our employees. We’ll be reaching out to our various stakeholders to discuss better means of bringing our new technologies to them and engaging in the important discussions that always take place in Barcelona,”
Lightico – Withdrawn
… On the one hand, it wasn’t an easy decision because MWC offers a great opportunity to meet with prospects, customers, and partners, especially in the telco space, which has been a strong vertical for us as a company. On the other hand, when we stopped to consider the safety of our colleagues, the decision was clear.
Still, as a fast-growing company, the sunk costs of the booth, flights, accommodations as well as potential opportunities made it a painful decision.
LG – Withdrawn
LG has decided to withdraw from exhibiting and participating in MWC 2020, which will prevent needlessly exposing hundreds of LG employees to international travel, which most health experts have advised.
LG Electronics thanks its supporters and the public for their understanding during these difficult and challenging times.
MediaTek – Withdrawn
“MediaTek has been following the Novel Coronavirus (nCov) closely,”
“After careful assessment, MediaTek decided to withdraw from MWC Barcelona 2020 for employees, customers, and partners’ health and safety concern. We will consider other ways to share our 5G and all related technological breakthroughs.”
NTT Docomo – Withdrawn
At present, the impact of the new coronavirus is expanding, and we were planning to exhibit from February 24 (Monday)-February 27 (Thursday) 2020.
In consideration of the safety of the visitors, partner companies and staff members, we decided to cancel the exhibition.”
Nvidia – Withdrawn
Given public health risks around the coronavirus, ensuring the safety of our colleagues, partners and customers is our highest concern,
MWC Barcelona is one of the world’s most important technology conferences. We’ve been looking forward to sharing our work in AI, 5G and vRAN with the industry. We regret not attending, but believe this is the right decision.
We’re grateful for GSMA’s leadership and continued efforts to ensure the safety of all attendees.
Panorama Software – Withdrawn
Dear customers, partners, analysts and colleagues. We have decided not to participate in MWC2020 this year, but instead to ask GSMA to host an online event, to help fight the spread of the infectious coronavirus.
Royole – Withdrawn
Due to the health and safety concerns following the coronavirus outbreak, Royole Corporation has regretfully decided to withdraw from MWC 2020. We will be announcing FlexPai 2, a brand new foldable phone featuring flagship performance and Royole’s core tech, before MWC 2020.
Sony – Withdrawn
Sony has been closely monitoring the evolving situation following the novel coronavirus outbreak, which was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization on January 30th, 2020.
As we place the utmost importance on the safety and wellbeing of our customers, partners, media and employees, we have taken the difficult decision to withdraw from exhibiting and participating at MWC 2020 in Barcelona, Spain.
Spirent – Withdrawn
Out of an abundance of caution and concern for the well-being of our employees, customers and partners, Spirent has made the decision to not participate in MWC Barcelona 2020. We deeply regret not being able to attend this important event, but as more details emerge about the growing coronavirus outbreak, safety is our paramount concern.
In the coming weeks, we will provide an update on our latest 5G testing, assurance and security innovation developments, and look forward to rejoining our industry colleagues at a future event.
Sprint – Withdrawn
“Our team will not be attending MWC due to concerns around the novel coronavirus,”
Sun Global Broadband – Withdrawn
Sun Global Broadband Hawaii regrets that we will not attend MWC in Barcelona in February 2020 due to concerns over the Corona Virus.
Instead, SGB will make our press release with expanded carrier partners for our unique Mobile Super Wi-Fi network at PTC Hawaii and at the San Francisco WiFi Now.
TCL (Scaled back)
“Given the recent global health concerns due to the spread of the 2019-nCoV virus, and out of an abundance of caution and care for our staff, customers, press and other guests, TCL Communication is cancelling its global press event for MWC 2020, which was planned for 22 February 2020.
Ulefone – Withdrawn
“In order to ensure the safety of our colleagues, partners and customers, we will not attend MWC 2020 in Barcelona, Spain. We regret not attending, but believe this is the right decision,”
Umdigi – Withdrawn
UMIDIGI officially decided to withdraw from mwc2020
Viavi Solutions – Withdrawn
After reviewing all available data, VIAVI has chosen to cancel participation in this year’s MWC Barcelona out of an abundance of caution and concern for our employees, customers and partners. VIAVI remains excited about its powerful suite of 5G solutions.
We will be contacting customers and other stakeholders that we intended to meet at the show to arrange alternative means to showcase our expanding RAN to Core portfolio.
Vivo – Withdrawn
Vivo has been closely monitoring the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (NCP) outbreak and continuously evaluating planned activities,. The health and safety of our employees and the public are our top priority.
“In light of the current situation, we have taken the decision not to attend MWC 2020 or any other associated event in Barcelona at the same time”
We will soon introduce the APEX 2020 concept phone which we had originally planned to showcase at MWC. We will share more updates in due course.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused and would like to thank our partners, media friends and consumers for their understanding.
ZTE – Scaled back
“The ZTE Devices Press conference scheduled on February 25, which is just one of multiple planned activities, is cancelled. A wide variety of new 5G devices will be demonstrated at the ZTE booth during MWC 2020 as planned,”
Other companies that have reportedly cancelled include: Coosea Group, Dell’Oro Group, F5 Networks , Panorama Software and Radwin. However, at the time of publishing we have been unable to verify the situation with these companies.
