After Sony, Nokia and Ericsson, Google pulls out of MWC 2021

Last year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) was counting on hosting an in-person event for as long as it could till almost all major exhibitors kept pulling out. And it looks like despite MWC’s best laid plans, this year is not going to be any different.

After Nokia, Sony, Ericsson and Oracle all pulling out of MWC 2021, Google has announced that it too will not be exhibiting at the world’s largest mobile phone show.

“Following our current COVID-19 travel restrictions and protocols, Google has made the decision to not exhibit at Mobile World Congress this year. We will continue to collaborate closely with GSMA and support our partners through virtual opportunities. We look forward to this year’s activities and seeing you in Barcelona in 2022,” Google said in a statement.

Also Read: Sony, Ericsson and Nokia withdraw from MWC as GSMA plans in-person event

Earlier in February this year, GSMA, the organisers behind the Mobile World Congress, had announced that they were going ahead with an in-person event this year. This got most potential exhibitors and attendees worried since the Covid-19 pandemic has not abated yet.

It is also significantly scary that as per GSMA’s announcements, only very standard precautions need to be maintained in order to attend the show. These include wearing masks and a negative Covid-19 test within 72-hours of arrival.

Also Read: MWC organisers to go ahead with in-person event despite Covid-19 fears

To put things into perspective, none of these are considered to be sufficient to prevent Covid-19. GSMA has also not included the need to be vaccinated in their lists of requirements at the time of announcement.

However, since big names like Google have started pulling out now, it remains to be seen if the organisers are going to change their minds.