Qualcomm is another company that will not be participating in person at MWC 2021
Just like we show here, the GSMA (GSM Association) will indeed risk an in-person edition of its MWC technology fair in 2021, which will take place, at least according to them, following all protocols. Its partners, however, are not as confident as the organization, and Qualcomm is yet another company that will not participate in person at the MWC 2021 event in Barcelona.
The organizer promises testing every 72 hours and the capacity to receive between 40 and 50 guests, but all the efforts already announced do not seem to be enough to convince important names in technology. Yesterday, it was Samsung who has announced that they will not be there in person. Thus, they and Qualcomm join a long list of companies that will not be physically present in Barcelona to attend MWC 2021, such as Google, IBM, Nokia, Sony, Oracle, Ericsson and Lenovo.
Qualcomm's participation at MWC 2021 will be entirely virtual
And what happens to the event after that? Well, Qualcomm will not be attending the physical MWC event, but will continue to participate virtually in the event, which is one of the most important and significant in the mobile industry. The same will happen with most of the brands mentioned. The technology and telecommunications fair will be held in June, and the chipmaker is expected to participate on June 28, to publicize its latest efforts involving the chip ecosystem and 5G modems. The company released a note to the TechCrunch:
While we appreciate the health and safety measures implemented by the GSMA for MWC Barcelona, we have decided that it is in the best interest of our employees and customers for Qualcomm’s participation to be virtual this year. We look forward to engaging with the event through Cristiano Amon’s virtual keynote on June 28, and through our 5G announcements and demonstrations.
With this latest exodus, GSMA is losing momentum to hold the in-person event. It is worth remembering that the Mobile World Congress is the telecommunications group's main source of revenue. It would generate 80% of the company's annual cash flow. In 2020, with the onset of the pandemic, GSMA was surprised and, forced to cancel the event, opted to lay off 20% of its entire staff to stem financial losses.
Image: Sundry Photography/Getty Images
