Nvidia has informed GSMA, the organisers of MWC Barcelona, that it will not be attending the event this year over coronavirus fears. It’s the latest firm to announce similar measures with LG and Ericsson announcing earlier that they would not be attending the event either.
In a statement discussing its withdrawal, Nvidia said:
“Given public health risks around the coronavirus, ensuring the safety of our colleagues, partners and customers is our highest concern.
MWC Barcelona is one of the world’s most important technology conferences. We’ve been looking forward to sharing our work in AI, 5G and vRAN with the industry. We regret not attending, but believe this is the right decision.”
Following Ericsson’s withdrawal from the event, GSMA put out a statement saying that it was “of great importance” that the industry meets at this time when 5G is just beginning to take off. While it plans to monitor and assess the impact of the coronavirus on the event, it is still planning to go ahead with it from 24-27 February as scheduled.
To mitigate risks at the event, GSMA is taking measures to prevent the spread of the virus at its venue, it said: “there are extensive additional health measures that have been put in place.” It is also asking exhibitors and attendees to implement guidelines and protocols as suggested by the World Health Organization and other health authorities to help prevent the spread of the virus.