South Korea’s LG Electronics, which usually occupies one among the most important spaces at the annual congress in Barcelona, said late on Tuesday it might not participate within the event this year so as to safeguard “the safety of its employees, partners and customers”.The company said it'd instead hold separate events within the “near future” to unveil its new mobile products.
Meanwhile, Shenzhen-based ZTE, which makes smartphones and wireless networking equipment, said while it had been still participating within the event it's adapted several strong prevention measures to truncate the spread of the virus that has already claimed almost 500 people, primarily in China. These include requiring that senior executives of the corporations participating in “high-level meetings” at the gathering “will self-isolate themselves in Europe for a minimum of a fortnight before the MWC,” the corporate said during a statement.
ZTE’s exhibition stand and equipment are going to be disinfected daily and every one of its booth exhibition staff will come from countries outside of China, mainly from Europe, it added.All employees from China, including non-Chinese nationals, who will participate at the fair must haven't any symptoms fortnight before departure to the MWC.
ZTE unveiled its first flagship phone that's compatible with the newest, fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks at the event last year. It said it might showcase new 5G devices in Barcelona this year. Around 750 operators and 400 companies that are represented by GSMA in the broader mobile economy, added that it saw the slightest impact thus far.
Mainland China has reported quite 24,000 confirmed cases, while quite 150 cases are confirmed in twenty-four countries and regions, round the world. On Wednesday, China’s Huawei Technologies said it might participate in MWC as planned.
In 2019 some 6 per cent of Mobile World Congress attendees were from China, consistent with GSMA’s post-congress report. Most of its attendees were from Europe, around 64 per cent, as were about 45 per cent of the exhibitors.