MWC Barcelona Canceled Amid Coronavirus Fears

The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona has been cancelled amid growing concerns about the coronavirus.

MWC is one of the premier trade shows for the telecoms industry, organized by GSMA and focusing on the mobile industry. As the date for this year’s conference drew close, however, fears of the coronavirus began to dominate discussion, leading several of the most important supporters of MWC to announce their withdrawal from this year’s show. According to Reuters, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, BT and Nokia were some of the latest companies to pull out.

For many companies, the cancelation will have far-reaching consequences. Many vendors, especially smaller ones, without the name-brand clout of Samsung, rely on MWC to make a splash with their newest phones or devices. With the trade show canceled, those companies will have to find other ways to debut their products.

The GSMA statement announcing the decision said the group is working toward the 2021 and future conferences, and extended sympathies to those impacted by the virus in China and around the world.

This is just the latest example of the far-reaching impact of the coronavirus, as the death toll and infection rate continues to climb.