San Diego real estate blog - Peter Toner

…. that there are a total of 633 local telecom companies here in San Diego with a total of 25,469 employees? Eighty-nine of these companies were started up by employees of Linkabit - from the original Telecom Company of San Diego founded in 1968. It may not be a name you recognize but you will probably recognize this company name - Qualcomm. What’s the connection (no pun intended)? A gentleman named Irwin Jacobs who was a head leader/founder in both companies.

Many have dubbed Irwin Jacobs as the “father” of San Diego’s telecommunications industry, who starting up Linkabit with two professors from UCLA. The company became known for its talented employees and its constant drive to be ahead of the rest in technological advancement.

Linkabit was eventually sold in the 80’s and from it spawned many other telecomm forces in San Diego. The most widely known of these companies was Qualcomm. An article in the Union Tribune goes into further detail regarding San Diego’s telecom growth, mentioning that in 2004 it contributed more than $11 billion dollars to the local San Diego economy.

To read more view the full Union Tribune article.