Huawei was scaling back by assigning European
staff to the show instead. Its chairman had
planned to hold a media briefing by video
because he wouldn’t get to Spain with
enough time to undergo a two-week self-
quarantine period.
Organizers were caught between risking
potential backlash over public health concerns
if they went ahead or facing big financial losses
if they canceled, said Stephen Mears, a research
analyst at Futuresource Consulting.
Even before the cancellation, Mears said his
five-person team was considering dropping out
or shortening the trip as many participants they
wanted to meet wouldn’t be there, including
those from China, which accounts for an
increasing share of the global smartphone and
mobile network industry.
“It’s becoming less and less valuable for people
like us to attend if we’re not able to get meetings
with the high-level executives,” he said.
Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight, said
companies now have to figure out “the best way
to salvage something from this difficult situation.”
Randy Nelson, head of insights at mobile
data firm Sensor Tower, said his company had
planned on having a booth at Mobile World
Congress. He said his firm expected to recoup
the exhibiting fees since it hadn’t pulled out, but
had not heard from organizers yet.
While the cancellation was a disappointment,
Nelson said, the work that went into planning
for the show can still be useful for future events,
including the Game Developers Conference in
San Francisco in March.