CBOSS banned from MWC 2013 for breach of regulations

The GSMA, which organises Mobile World Congress, has announced that Russian OSS/BSS firm CBOSS will not be allowed to exhibit at the 2013 event, having this year been found in breach of show regulations. CBOSS has long been renowned for its use of attractive, often scantily-clad young women as a means of driving traffic to its stand.

GSMA made the announcement on Twitter and, at the time of writing, has not issued a full press release on the matter. The organisation’s tweet read: “On Thursday 1 March GSMA informed CBOSS that their contract 4 Mobile World Congress 2013 would be terminated for breach of show regulations”.

As we Tweeted from the event last week, CBOSS upped the ante in its marketing at this year’s event, offering delegates a “romantic dinner” with one of their “famous girls” in exchange for the delegates’ views on the OSS/BSS market. The ruse attracted a great deal of attention and, while the GSMA is offering no further comment, it is this latest ploy that is most likely to be at the heart of the conflict.

A spokesperson for GSMA told Telecoms.com: “There were a number of things during MWC2012 that made us reconsider the CBOSS contract and to take this action. However, this is a contractual matter between our two companies and not a matter of public record.”