The object
Irwin Jacobs was a Qualcomm co-founder who made major contributions to CDMA, a radio-access technology embodied in digital cellular base stations and handsets. CDMA enabled many users to share spectrum efficiently and became a core third-generation mobile-network technology deployed at massive global scale.
01
What Irwin did
Co-developed and commercialized code-division multiple-access technology for digital cellular radio networks.
02
Why it matters
NIHF says CDMA underlies third-generation cellular telephone networks and supported more than 1.6 billion subscribers.
03
Living-status check
The University of California documented Jacobs receiving its Presidential Medal in person on March 15, 2025.