The GSM Association (GSMA) does not appear to be concerned about the rapid spread of the new Omicron variant, as it has confirmed that the MWC fair in Barcelona will be a face-to-face event.
This was confirmed by John Hoffman, Director General of the GSMA, in a post on the MWC website, where it states that conference participants will be able to “Meet Safely” this year.
Hoffmann claims that You will only change your mind if the Spanish authorities so indicate:
This new year also starts with more news related to the pandemic. The global situation continues to evolve and one thing is for sure, we will have to deal with the effects of Covid-19 for years to come.
In times like these, responsible leadership is more critical than ever. This kind of leadership inspires innovation and the kind of investment that drives our industry, society and economy while keeping our community safe.
Given this and the fact that current circumstances have made connectivity deeply critical, the GSMA would only consider a change in our plans under the direction of the Spanish authorities.
The conference is expected to have more than 1,500 exhibitors from 150 different countries, according to the note.
MWC is one of the biggest conferences on mobile technology and is often an opportunity to see new smartphones from different manufacturers.
Although, In recent years, many relevant manufacturers, such as Samsung or Huawei, had already chosen to make their big announcements at dedicated events on other dates. Other manufacturers like Apple were never interested in this event.
MWC was one of the first major fairs of 2021 to be canceled due to the pandemic. Even before the GSMA announced the cancellation of the fair, several companies had already announced their absence from MWC 2021, keeping in mind the health and safety of their employees.
At the moment, no company has yet announced whether it will withdraw from attending the conference. Amazon, Google, OnePlus, Lenovo, Microsoft, Nvidia and Intel were some of the companies that dropped out of going to CES this year.