MWC now stands for 'Most Won't Come': Intel, Vivo and MediaTek drop out of mobile industry kneesup over coronavirus

Intel is the latest big name to withdraw from the Mobile World Congress trade show, due to take place in Barcelona later this month amid growing fears about the coronavirus epidemic. This follows moves by other large firms, including Nvidia and LG, which both dropped out of the event in the last few days, citing the same …

[Blank Reg]

They should just cancel the whole event

If someone showed up that was contagious then with the typically huge MWC crowds you could expect dozens, or even hundreds of people will become infected. And they will all head home in a few days not realizing that they were infected until after they've had a chance to infect others.

[jelabarre59]

Re: They should just cancel the whole event

The alternative is for attendees and presenters to adopt a new dress code: https://i.pinimg.com/236x/00/8d/91/008d919f89d0c615e2df9a882d23a18c.jpg

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: They should just cancel the whole event

Canceling is clearly the right thing to do. But their cancellation insurance probably doesn't kick-in until they're told to cancel by the government. :-(

[entfe001]

Re: They should just cancel the whole event

Last news I heard are that GSMA is waiting for the WHO to officially declare that virus a pandemic, as this would enable them by contract to cancel the event without the need to pay indemnities

OTOH, and this is pure speculation, they might hold for enough parties to suspend their attendance, cash their indemnities, and once the balance between what attendees have to pay and what they should pay to parties still attending is positive, to cancel without a loss

[spold]

So... RSA?

So Spain has 0 cases when I last looked, and California has 7 - should people be bailing on the huge upcoming RSA in San Fran? OK I guess attendees are well placed to do a Risk Assessment....

[entfe001]

Re: So... RSA?

Spain has 2 confirmed cases, however both of them are on islands: one at Canary Islands, other at Balearic Islands. By the way, the second one is a British citizen.

Nonetheless, I'd be glad if the MWC gets suspended, if only because I use metro line L8 on my commute (for those who ever attended, the one linking Espanya and Fira, although I go farther) and the Mobile Week becomes a living hell if you need to move through the area.