The organizers behind the MWC 2020 (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona have come forward offering refunds or discounts to future events to the thousands of expected attendees and companies that had previously paid for the conference before its eventual cancelation.

For those unaware, the MWC is the world’s largest mobile technology conference. It brings big names from the industry to showcase their innovation or advancements and attract crowds in the thousands. Unfortunately, the event was canceled earlier this year due to fears of the Coronavirus outbreak. Look back at it now, the move was probably a smart decision to protect its organizers and attendees. However, the conference doesn’t operate for profit and had trouble issuing refunds, especially to OEMs that paid hefty sums for spots on the event.

This also marked the first time in 33 years that the event has to ever be scrapped. Many smartphone brands lost a major stage for their respective launch events and technological showcases. Similarly, tens of millions of dollars were also spent on the exhibition which had more or less been wasted, since advertising expenditure cannot be returned. Previously, it was reported that discounts were unlikely to be given out because of the losses incurred, but now it seems that fundings have been rerouted.

Editor’s Pick: The Galaxy Buds+’ industry’s first All-in-One Power Management ICs significantly improve TWS earbuds

According to a statement from the organizer, GSMA will be offering a full refund on the ticket costs for the attendees. In other words, a 799 EUR ($865) basic admission pass will be sent to the many customers. For the large OEMs, however, the GSMA plans on incentivizing discounts on attending the event in future years as an alternative to refunding large sums outright. A few of the major brands have already expressed their desires to share the stage again next year, so the strategy might be effective for the trade body.

Big names can now receive a credit worth 125% of what they had initially invested in for the MWC 2020 in Barcelona. This sum can be be used to gain a 65% discount for next year and 35% and 25% in the subsequent years respectively. Additionally, GSMA has also offered a separate plan that will allow immediate refund claims for up to 50% of original spending, but only up to $178,000. Needless to say, its a strategy to actively include participation in next year’s event.

UP NEXT: Qualcomm launches QCC514x and QCC304x for TWS earbuds with integrated noise cancellation

(Via)

The post MWC 2020 Organizers offers Refunds after canceling the event appeared first on Gizmochina.

Earlier this month, news arrived that the MWC 2020 (Mobile World Congress) which is held in Barcelona has been canceled. The reason for this was the recent Coronavirus epidemic that has devastated China and is causing a massive financial cost to be incurred for the canceled event.

For those unaware, China is witnessing the outbreak of a new breed of Coronavirus. The infection is highly contagious and has killed an estimated 1,669 people until now. The virus is known to cause pneumonia and originated from the Wuhan city in China. As of right now, a handful number of cases have also been confirmed worldwide and have since been a reason for high alert in other nations apart from just China as well.

The GSMA, the organizer behind the MWC 2020 event, is now discussing MWC events for Shanghai and Los Angeles. These are the other locations that also hold the event and take place later during the year. Furthermore, GSMA has already posted about the upcoming MWC 2021 event as well, which is stated to be held from March 1st to March 4th next year.

Editor’s Pick: iQOO 3 5G smartphone gets highest ever AnTuTu score; battery specs revealed

After the decision to cancel the MWC event in Barcelona arrived, the organizer has seemingly taken a heavy loss. According to reports, the GSMA is even asking tech firms and other telecom operators’ help to cushion the sizable financial blow that it has witnessed. Since the event was canceled quite near the event dates, OEMs had already prepared and bought booths to promote their respective products whilst hotel rooms and other forms of accommodations had already been reserved as well. Even tickets to the event have also been sold too, and it is yet unclear if refunds will be handed out.

The Director General of GSMA, Mats Granryd, has stated that “We’re looking for solidarity and everybody bearing their own costs, Granryd said on Friday. “We’re an NGO (non-governmental organization) and we don’t make a profit. We don’t have huge amounts of funds, and all our proceeds are funneled back into the industry.” In other words, the organizer wishes for companies to manage the cost already incurred internally since the event isn’t made for profit, rather, to ensure that another event is held later down the road.

UP NEXT: OPPO’s upcoming flagship Find X2 could support 30W fast wireless charging

(Via)

The post MWC 2020 being Canceled in Barcelona brings a hefty financial cost appeared first on Gizmochina.

After a series of companies announced their withdrawal from MWC 2020 this week, GSM Association, the organizers of the event has decided to cancel the tech event this year. MWC is the world’s biggest mobile tech show of the year and its cancelation is a strong indication of the gravity of the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.

This announcement doesn’t really come as a surprise given how major tech giants like LG, MediaTek, Vivo, AT&T, Sony, and Amazon backed out of the event in the past few days. All these companies expressed their concern for the safety of their employees as well as the attendees of the event this year.

Xiaomi, Realme, and Huawei had recently confirmed their attendance at the event. Xiaomi and Realme also announced pre-MWC launch events for their devices. But with the event officially canceled, we’ll have to wait for an official statement from these companies regarding their pre-MWC events.

In an emailed statement to Bloomberg, John Hoffman, the CEO of GSMA, said the outbreak made it “impossible” to hold MWC 2020.

JUST IN: The 2020 Mobile World Congress has been canceled by GSMA because of #coronavirus fears.

In an emailed statement, John Hoffman, the CEO of GSMA, said the outbreak has made it "impossible" to hold the event #MWC2020 pic.twitter.com/PS1BqTCzU8

— QuickTake by Bloomberg (@QuickTake) February 12, 2020

Over 1100 people have died in China after contracting the covid-19 aka novel coronavirus and over 40,000 people have been infected so far. These numbers are rising every day. WHO has already declared coronavirus as a global health emergency. And with a number of important MWC attendees withdrawing weeks before the event, the GSMA was left with no choice but to cancel the tech show this year.

UP NEXT: Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro & Mi 10 Full specs leak; Mi 10 hands-on video too

The post MWC 2020 canceled due to the ongoing Coronavirus epidemic appeared first on Gizmochina.