Son Seeks To Repeat Father's Success In The Changing Of Guard At Qualcomm; Paul Jacobs Faces Challenges; New CEO strives to boost wireless firm's 3G market share amid slowing growth.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: MIKE ANGELL

Paul Jacobs last week stood on the field at Qualcomm Stadium, home of the San Diego Chargers football team, before some 9,000 employees of the stadium's namesake. The employees were celebrating a lot of company touchdowns, and the company's 20th anniversary.

But as Jacobs joined them in celebrating a successful past, he admits he felt the weight of the future.

Looking up at the employees in the stands, Jacobs recalls thinking: "The livelihood of these people rests on the decisions I make. That's a big responsibility."

The responsibility starts Friday, when Jacobs officially becomes chief executive of wireless product maker and technology creator Qualcomm. He's replacing the only other CEO the company's known, Paul's 71-year old father, Irwin. The company unveiled the succession plan in March.

Thanks to its patents on code division multiple access or CDMA technology -- CDMA is one of the world's two major methods of transmitting wireless voice and data -- Qualcomm's chips and technology are in one of every seven cell phones in the world. Rapid growth of CDMA use in Asia and the U.S. has made Qualcomm one of the most successful tech companies ever.

Jacobs says that trend will continue thanks to growing interest in newer, advanced cell phones and still untapped markets in developing nations. All of which Qualcomm plans to lead in the coming decades.