BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The GSMA today announced that Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, Chairman and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated, has been named the recipient of the 2014 GSMA Chairman's Award. This award, established in 1995, is the GSMA's most prestigious award and recognises outstanding personal contribution to the growth and development of mobile communications around the world.

Presenting the award to Dr. Jacobs at a special ceremony on Sunday evening, GSMA Chairman Jon Fredrik Baksaas commented, "On behalf of the GSMA, I am very pleased to name Dr. Paul Jacobs as the winner of this year's Chairman's Award. This award recognises Paul's long-term contribution, as well as that of Qualcomm, in delivering sustained innovation, ecosystem investment and a commitment to the convergence of technology standards for next-generation interoperability. The mobile industry has been a major beneficiary of his commitment to innovation and leadership, as have the billions of men and women around the world whose lives have been changed by mobile." 

On receiving the award, Dr. Jacobs commented, "It's a great honor to receive this award in recognition of innovation and growth of mobile communications worldwide. Qualcomm's heritage has been to partner with operators and the ecosystem to commercialise innovations and bring new experiences to consumers across the globe. It has been gratifying and humbling to participate in the evolution of mobile in becoming become mankind's largest technology platform which, through mobile broadband, provides information and services that improve the lives of billions of people worldwide."

Founded in 1985, Qualcomm Incorporated has become one of the telecommunications industry's greatest start-up success stories, pioneering some of the most significant innovations and technical developments and through its unique business model, heavily investing in R&D and broadly licensing its intellectual property to more than 250 companies across the industry. Under Dr. Jacobs' leadership, Qualcomm embraced the evolution of 3G mobile broadband standards to become the leading way people access the Internet globally and contributed substantially to the technology development and commercialisation of LTE, the single, global standard for 4G. Underscoring this commitment to innovation and a horizontal ecosystem approach, Qualcomm has invested a cumulative total of more than $28.6 billion in R&D into advanced mobile technologies.

Qualcomm has emerged as a world leader in mobile technologies and the leading supplier of chipsets to the wireless industry. It has long been a leading player at the forefront of the development of a range of technologies and solutions, from 3G and 4G technologies, mobile computing, multimedia and device capabilities and IP, to machine-to-machine communications, location-based services, operating systems, application platforms and many other vital aspects of mobile communications. Dr. Jacobs has been granted more than 45 patents for his inventions in wireless technology and applications such as the inclusion of GPS capabilities in mobile phones.

The Chairman's Award is part of the annual Global Mobile Awards, which will be presented at 14:30 on Tuesday, 25th February. The ceremony will be held in Auditorium 1, Hall 4, Fira Gran Via and is open to Mobile World Congress attendees from all shortlisted companies, regardless of pass type, as well as all other Mobile World Congress attendees holding Platinum, Gold, Silver or Press/Analyst passes.

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About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators with 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organisations in industry sectors such as financial services, healthcare, media, transport and utilities. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Expo. 

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.

SOURCE GSMA