Mobile World Live is tracking the ongoing impact of Covid-19 (coronavirus) on the industry: this concise blog will be updated daily as we track how operators and major players are adapting to, and helping tackle, the spread of the virus.

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TODAY (24 JULY, 2020):

  • Verizon posted double-digit profit growth and added mobile subscribers in Q2, overcoming revenue and other headwinds related to the pandemic.

20 JULY, 2020:

  • Samsung said it felt a “special responsibility” to address consumer needs in a post-pandemic world, as it teased the debut of five new devices at a 5 August Galaxy launch event.
  • India smartphone shipments tumbled sharply in Q2 as vendors faced the double blow of low supplies due to factory closures and weak demand because of on and offline retail closures, Canalys reported.

17 JULY:

  • Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read said recovery from the pandemic presents societies an “opportunity to reshape our future sustainably to ensure that recovery does not come at a cost to the environment”.
  • Ericsson CEO Borje Ekholm said the vendor saw “limited impact on operating income and cash flow” in Q2 results, but uncertainty related to the public health situation remained.

16 JULY:

  • Rogers Communications added a new payment option allowing prepaid users who can’t afford their full monthly payment to top-up on a daily basis.
  • Telenor offset the pandemic’s impact with cost-controls, while benefitting from positive currency exchange movements.

15 JULY:

14 JULY:

13 JULY:

  • Ooredoo Group extended its Work-From-Home policy until the end of the year, allowing employees whose work does not require them to be physically present in the office to work from home through 2020, in an aim to create a more innovative workplace.
  • Saudi Arabia-based operator STC again delayed plans to acquire Vodafone Group’s business in Egypt, citing logistical reasons.

10 JULY:

  • A survey conducted by digital association Bitkom found 28 million German smartphone users want a permanent contact-tracing app, despite EU guidelines stating they should be dismantled after purposes are served.

9 JULY:

  • Google ditched work on its cloud computing platform Isolated Region, due to geopolitical tensions with the pandemic also a factor in its decision.

7 JULY:

  • KT established a taskforce to lead its backing for a KRW100 trillion ($83.6 billion) government project to revitalise the economy.
  • LG Electronics forecast sharply lower operating profit and revenue for Q2 due to factory closures and weakened demand for home appliances and TVs stemming from lockdown measures.
  • Samsung predicted a sharp rise to operating profit for Q2, with an analyst telling Reuters the pandemic had less of an impact than expected.
  • The GSMA urged governments to recognise the critical role widespread connectivity and fast networks can play in buffering the economic and industrial shock of the pandemic.
  • Pedro Pablo Perez, CEO of Telefonica subsidiary ElevenPaths, said there is an “accelerated need” for companies to improve visibility of assets and update inventories to prepare for the possibility of teleworking.
  • Orange revealed new heads for its Poland and Belgium units as part of plans to accelerate its digital transformation strategy.

6 JULY:

2 JULY:

  • Trade associations the GSMA and ETNO urged the European Union to adopt their post-pandemic policies, including timely spectrum auctions and support for new infrastructure models including open RAN.

1 JULY:

  • Google announced offices in the US will remain closed until at least 7 September, as the country experiences a spike in cases.
  • Samsung Electronics decided against taking part in a scaled-back version of Berlin consumer electronics event IFA, The Korea Herald reported.

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