Economides said the agency had the opportunity to make the wrong choice back in the 1990s, when cellular carriers were bidding on spectrum for new digital systems and had to decide among the GSM, TDMA and CDMA standards.

FORBES: Liberty Media Unit Says Standards Manipulated By Competitors

Qualcomm started out making satellite-based tracking systems for trucking companies, but Irwin had far bigger plans:selling the world on a new digital way to connect cellular calls and carry 40 times as much traffic as the old analog systems then in place.

FORBES: Magazine Article