MWC Amid Omicron Spread... Telecom Industry Faces Dilemma

Companies Drastically Reduce Schedules or Discuss Complete Cancellations

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] As the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant intensifies, the government and mobile communication equipment companies scheduled to participate in the world's largest mobile exhibition, 'MWC 2022,' are also on high alert. Companies are significantly reducing their schedules or even discussing full cancellations.

According to the telecommunications industry on the 3rd, 'MWC 2022' will be held in Barcelona, Spain, from the 28th of this month to the 3rd of next month. MWC is considered the biggest event in the telecommunications industry because it showcases each company's mobile products and services as well as the outlook for the mobile market for the year.

The Ministry of Science and ICT has not yet decided whether Minister Lim Hye-sook will attend. Although Minister Lim expressed her intention to participate at a meeting held last month, the situation remains fluid. Minister Lim said, "I want to promote domestic digital technology to the world and create opportunities for cooperation with other countries," but added, "We need to monitor the COVID-19 situation further."

Samsung Electronics will hold its laptop unpacking event online. At this event, Samsung Electronics is expected to unveil the Galaxy Book2 Pro and Galaxy Book2 Pro 360. They are considering not holding any offline events except for physical displays.

The three major mobile carriers are also deeply concerned. KT is expected to have CEO Ku Hyeon-mo attend as he is a member of the GSMA Board of Directors. However, the number of participants will be drastically reduced. A KT official explained, "We are preparing for the exhibition, but we have decided not to hold offline events." SK Telecom's schedule outside of the exhibition remains uncertain.

LG Uplus, which did not participate in the world's largest consumer electronics and IT exhibition, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), has not yet decided whether to attend. An LG Uplus official said, "We will not exhibit, but business meetings were scheduled; however, the situation is fluid," adding, "We will have to decide after monitoring the situation until the third week of February."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.