Groups Returning to Meeting Despite COVID-19 Threat

After overwhelmingly going virtual in 2020, major communications groups are announcing plans to hold in-person conferences this year, a Communications Daily survey found. This is despite the remaining pandemic threat and as vaccinations must keep up with evolving variants. Public health experts said in interviews that in-person meetings may be safe this summer, and much depends on vaccine rollout and the virus trajectory.

A majority of events will be held in person, beginning in April, at least under current plans that remain subject to change. GSMA, the Wireless ISP Association, CTIA, Wireless Infrastructure Association, APCO, IWCE, NAB, Incompas and Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) are scheduled to meet in person. The Technology Policy Institute is tentatively scheduled to meet in person, TPI noted. Access Partnership will have a hybrid event. NATOA is staying virtual for its annual meeting, and NARUC is undecided. The Competitive Carriers Association's spring show will be virtual, and CCA may hold an in-person event later this year. ACA Connects and the National Cable Television Cooperative also could hold an in-person show later in 2021.

It's not fully safe to plow ahead with physical events now, experts agreed. That compares to what they said in interviews last year, when they were less certain of when large gatherings could safely return. Now, such resumption is in sight, just not quite yet.

“With all attendees and workers vaccinated, there is really no reason to cancel the conference, assuming that masking and distancing can continue,” said Jill Roberts, an epidemiologist with the University of South Florida College of Public Health. Spring meetings are “likely a bit too soon," she said. "A significant portion of the population is not yet vaccinated, which would likely include much of the staff at conference venues.”

“Until the vaccine rolls out to more people, it will remain difficult to plan any sort of large event,” said Jan Jones, instructor of hospitality and tourism at the University of New Haven. The venue is important, she said. “There are ways to set up a conference in a way that keeps people safe, but it will require an incredible amount of planning for an industry that has limited staffing right now,” she said: “I do see restrictions beginning to ease up and feel hopeful that later summer will begin the reemergence of some of the larger meetings.”

GSMA, WISPA

GSMA plans to hold Mobile World Congress June 28-July 1 in Barcelona, after scuttling the in-person MWC last year at the start of the pandemic.

As happened last year, some major industry players say they won’t go because of COVID-19 concerns. The decision not to attend, “whilst regrettable, reflects our precautionary approach to managing the pandemic from a people and travel perspective whilst vaccination programs are rolled out globally,” Ericsson said in a statement.

GSMA precautions include social distancing. Attendees must present a negative COVID-19 test, and rapid tests will be repeated every 72 hours there. Temperature checks will be done at all access points, GSMA said. The venue is providing badgeless entry and a new “fresh-air injection and external ventilation system to improve airflow.” A GSMA spokesperson referred us to the safety guidelines.

CTIA, working with GSMA, still plans an Americas version of MWC in October in Los Angeles, a spokesperson said. The group also plans a 5G summit in September in D.C.

CCA’s spring show will be virtual, with an in-person meeting Sept. 20-22 in Phoenix, depending on conditions then, a spokesperson confirmed. The Wireless Infrastructure Association had a virtual policy summit last month and plans an in-person show Aug. 3-6 in Boston. APCO plans to meet in person in San Antonio Aug. 15-18, after a virtual annual event last year. IWCE moved its conference to Sept. 27-30 in Las Vegas, after also going virtual in 2020.

WISPA held a limited in-person conference in 2020 and will hold one of the first this year, with its spring meeting scheduled for April 26-29 in Grapevine, Texas.

“It’s a full show, with attendance anticipated to near past attendance volumes of about 1,000 people,” a spokesperson said. “We are looking forward to holding an informative and safe event, adhering to state, local and hotel protocols, the latter of which will have a full mask and social distancing requirement in place even though the state is technically ‘open.’ This will be strictly policed by WISPA.” The group is also streaming the show, the spokesperson said.

NAB, NRB

NAB expects 70% to 80% of the usual 100,000 attendees at its 2021 event, said Chris Brown, executive vice president-conventions and business operations. It's now combined with the usually separate Radio Show and the Sales and Management Television Exchange, and the TV network affiliate groups will have their annual conclaves there. During the 2008 recession, show attendance dropped by around 20%, Brown said.

The 2021 NAB Show will take up about two-thirds of the space it usually does in the Las Vegas Convention Center, and other, unrelated organizations (having to do with “jets and hot rods,” Brown said) will have events in the unused space, he said. Pandemic procedures are being worked out, and Brown expected mask requirements, cleaning protocols and on-site medical facilities. The conference could include social distancing systems such as one-way aisles, and the trade group is considering requiring proof of vaccination, though Brown said things are fluid. Attendee safety is “the No. 1 priority,” he said.

Brown said the NAB Show’s exhibitors and venues understand the pandemic is a constantly shifting event, and the contracts included “a more flexible sets of terms” to accommodate the possibility of disruption from unexpected developments with COVID-19.

The broadcaster and broadcast industry officials we interviewed all said they didn’t expect COVID-19 concerns to be a factor in whether they attended, if the vaccine availability and virus continue as is widely projected. Lawyer Jack Goodman said station budgets hit by the pandemic could be a bigger factor in declining attendance than coronavirus concerns. “I am 100% confident that NAB will have it together” as far as health concerns, said Alpha Media CEO Bob Proffitt. “I’m very comfortable with going.”

"I am looking forward to reconnecting with friends, colleagues and vendors in Las Vegas,” said Emily Barr, CEO of Graham Media and a member of NAB’s executive committee. National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters President Jim Winston said he expects to attend, and his organization is holding its own in-person event in October. Radio broadcaster and former NAB Radio Board member Ed Henson expects widespread vaccination by October and trusts other broadcasters to do what’s needed to keep show attendees safe. “Being in person is how relationships are built," Henson said. “Zoom is a tool, but it’s not the same.”

“There’s a lot of pent-up demand, a lot of anticipation” to meet up and network, said National Religious Broadcasters CEO Troy Miller in an interview. His group’s Christian Media Convention is set for June 21-24 in Grapevine, Texas. NRB’s 2020 conference was held just before pandemic shutdowns became widespread, and the organization shifted the 2021 event to the summer to allow for wider vaccine distribution, he said.

NRB’s conference usually gets 3,500 to 4,000 attendees. Miller said he expects a drop, though registration numbers show the group on pace to equal its 2018 attendance. NAB and NRB expect travel restrictions to affect international attendance. Miller said his organization is working with Marriott on health procedures for the NRB event and will comply with the state's and hotel’s requirements, which could include masks and on-site temperature checks.

Hybrids, Cautions

Convention and meetings experts said hybrid events with some programming done in person and some virtually could be the new norm, even post-pandemic.

The number of events overall is rebounding and should get back to near normal sometime next year, said George Fenich, a professor at East Carolina University's School of Hospitality Leadership. He said virtual meetings and events have had more attendance than when they were face to face, though organizations are grappling with the registration and conference fees for virtual events and how much lower they should be than for physical attendance. Fenich said hybrid events mean a smaller economic impact for the destination, with fewer hotel stays, restaurant meals and the like. He said trade shows like CES will fare better with face-to-face attendance than largely programmatic events. "You can't really do a virtual trade show," he said. "You can't kick the tires on a car you are viewing on a computer monitor."

Some events are experimenting will full pricing for virtual attendees, said Joanne Dennison, adjunct faculty at Boston University School of Hospitality Administration. She said that can be justified if the gathering works to make the web-based content engaging: "You can't throw up everyone on a Zoom screen and say, 'Yep, good meeting.'"

The Professional Convention Management Association is watching protocols globally and what airlines are doing. "We are hopeful the vaccine rollout continues to improve and provide our audience with access to vaccines," it emailed. For PCMA events, it said it's considering requiring proof of a negative COVID-19 test. It said it offered antigen rapid testing during its annual Convening Leaders event in January in Singapore.

Event planners should keep everything as touchless as possible, said Georges Benjamin, American Public Health Association executive director. He suggested allowing registration before arrival, cleaning on-site registration kiosks between individuals and distributing badges without staff interactions. “At the end of the day, to the extent that you can leverage all of those various barriers, I think those are ways to reduce your risk” of transmitting the virus, he said.

CEO Elliott Ferguson of Destination D.C., the Washington Convention Center and visitors organization, said demand is growing to put on events: The ability to do so hinges on the city loosening pandemic restrictions. “We are really missing out for some opportunities for short-term bookings" of events of a couple of hundred attendees, he said.

"I'm reluctant to recommend that there be large gatherings at this point," said behavioral scientist John Allegrante, a professor at Columbia University. Taking public transportation and gathering indoors in large numbers risks further transmission because masks aren't always worn correctly, and ventilation isn't always the best, he said: “I just don't think it's worth taking the risk right now.” Those who do attend large gatherings should take precautions like wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing as much as possible, Allegrante said. "I would recommend that people not be complacent, that they continue ... to practice these public health measures" even after getting vaccinated.

Localities, States

State and local groups are taking a cautious approach.

NARUC is undecided on doing its July 18-21 meeting remotely or in person in Denver. State commissioners last met in person in February 2020; three NARUC events since then were online. “Our plan is to visit the issue in the very beginning of April to see if anything has changed after" Q1, emailed NARUC Meetings Director Michelle Malloy. She said association leaders will consider “the most up to date science" and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, the "confidence of attendees in traveling, safety/health accommodations on site at a hotel, and vaccination rate nationwide, paying specific attention to the meeting city.”

NARUC surveyed winter meeting attendees about the next meeting, said South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Chairman Chris Nelson, a NARUC board member: “My response was that I’d be comfortable traveling after being vaccinated.” He anticipated being fully vaccinated before July. Another board member, Crystal Rhoades, hopes for a hybrid conference, the Nebraska Public Service Commissioner emailed -- if the CDC clears vaccinated people to travel. “Vaccination rates are ramping up but I know there are many places ... where people who want the vaccine haven't been able to access them and we still want to have a way for those folks to participate.”

NATOA decided months ago to virtualize its Sept. 21-23 annual meeting. The board voted in November for a web-based event, informing members Dec. 3, said Executive Director Tonya Rideout. After last year’s online conference, “we heard from many members that they were able to send more staff than ever before because of discounted virtual rates and no travel expenses,” she said: Nearly one-third joined the NATOA conference for the first time. With many local government travel budgets still frozen or diminished, “the decision seemed clear to stay virtual for 2021,” Rideout said. “We hoped that making the call and announcing as early as possible would allow our members to budget for 2021 professional development.”

Media, Telecom

Media, telecom and technology events planning reflects many of the unknowns of making projections now for later in 2021.

Access Partnership, organizer of July's Satellite 2021 show, which it said would be a mix of virtual and in-person events at the Washington Convention Center, didn’t comment. Destination D.C. said other in-person events scheduled for the city in coming months include the American College of Surgeons in October, with an estimated 13,000 attendees; Association for Financial Professionals in November, with an estimated 6,000; and the American Speech Language Hearing Association also in November, with 7,000 projected. The IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society's International Microwave Symposium emailed attendees this month with a survey of the factors being considered when deciding between IMS 2021 being virtual or in person in June at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

ACA's traditional members' summit is in the spring in Washington, and the trade group considered doing a virtual version but ultimately opted not to, President Matt Polka said. Instead, it's stepping up virtual offerings such as webinars, he said. He said ACA is also planning a smaller summit late this year in Washington, so cable executives can meet with the FCC and lawmakers. That will likely be a permanent addition, as will the increased online programming, he said, even as ACA expects to resume its in-person summit post-pandemic. He said ACA and the National Cable Television Cooperative hope to put on their regular Independent Show later this year in person.

FBA moved its annual Fiber Connect conference to July in Nashville, instead of early June in Dallas, said CEO Gary Bolton (see 2103030062). That was after he and a board member visited Dallas and "weren't feeling comfortable with what was going on there,” he said. "We looked at the pandemic and where immunity was,” Bolton said, and “we viewed the virus is going to be more dormant during the summer.” The response has been “unbelievable,” Bolton said. “We put a lot of thought into it.” The group's May event for Latin America is still virtual, and it will “probably be next year before we can even think about a live conference” there, Bolton said.

Incompas is also “presently planning” to host its annual Incompas Show in person this fall, “given the increasing availability of vaccines and the measured opening of venues,” emailed Chief of Staff Julia Strow. “We will of course continue to monitor CDC and other government guidelines as we plan our event” and “will re-evaluate this decision should it become necessary to do so.”

TPI's Aspen Forum tentatively will be in person in August because a key reason for conferences is the face-to-face interaction, said TPI President Scott Wallsten. "You can't do all that on Zoom," he said. "People are really eager to go back and do things in person." He said TPI plans to make the final call June 1 on whether it will remain in Aspen, with the decision hinging on such issues as what percentage of the population has been vaccinated, CDC recommendations and what local arrangements can be made in Colorado.

Wallsten said if the Aspen Forum is in person, TPI will try to ensure social distancing and likely will require masks, even if the state doesn't. He said TPI also is working on a virtual component of the event. Pre-pandemic, attendance was often about 150, the economist noted. "This year, I don't know what to expect."

Editor's note: This is part of an ongoing series on how the pandemic is affecting communications stakeholders, including the public. A report about virtual hearings is here. Our report about remote oral arguments is here. And articles about the FCC scaling back news conferences are here and here. For our event calendar, please see here.