Ericsson withdraws from this year's MWC

The Swedish multinational telecommunications company Ericsson will not participate in the 2021 edition of the Mobile World Congress, which is to be held in Barcelona between June 28 and July 1 of this year, as advanced by specialised medium LightReading and confirmed to ARA the company.

"In view of the continuing impact of covid-19 and our primary focus on our people, their health and well-being, we have decided not to participate in MWC 2021," a spokesperson said. "While regrettable, the decision reflects our precautionary approach to managing the pandemic from a people and travel perspective while moving forward with global vaccination programmes," she added.

The company is therefore closing the door on taking part in the Barcelona congress, although it is keeping it open for future editions. "We look forward to the opportunity to rejoin future events and continue to work closely with GSMA and industry partners," said the Ericsson spokeswoman.

The GSMA, the organiser of Mobile, expects to bring some 50,000 attendees to Barcelona this summer, it said yesterday. To make this possible, it has taken extreme health and safety measures, with the obligation to test attendees every 72 hours.