Modern Khalifa University building with a sleek, glass facade, patterned metal exterior, and blue logos in Arabic and English. Palm trees and green landscaping surround the structure under a clear blue sky. A bold sign with the university’s name stands in front.

Khalifa University of Science and Technology

GSMA Foundry and Khalifa University to Accelerate AI Innovation with Advanced Telco LLMs

The GSMA Foundry, the GSMA’s innovation hub, has entered a strategic cooperation agreement with the Khalifa University of Science and Technology, a leading UAE academic institution, to advance research and innovation in telecom AI. This partnership focuses on the joint development of open, robust, safe, and energy-efficient AI solutions, with a flagship deliverable being the Advanced Telco LLMs.

Developing the Advanced Telco LLMs Ecosystem

The GSMA and Khalifa University are collaborating to develop specialised AI data assets, models, and benchmarking frameworks tailored specifically for telecom applications. Leveraging the expertise of Khalifa University’s 6G Research Centre (6GRC), the focus is on creating solutions that overcome the limitations of general-purpose LLMs in handling complex, technical telecom knowledge.

Phase 1 Deliverables:

Advanced Telco LLMs: An advanced, telco-first Large Language Model (LLM) designed for deep domain capabilities in telecommunications

Open Telco Knowledge Graph: A structured, open data asset focused on 3GPP documentation to accelerate accurate, telecom-specific AI model adoption

GSMA Open-Telco LLM Benchmarks: Collaboration to improve model performance in areas like network troubleshooting, standards interpretation, and technical knowledge.

The Open-Telco LLM Benchmarks

This is a critical component and deserves its own focus, drawing on the specific search results.

Deep Dive on Benchmarks

The partnership is integral to the GSMA Open-Telco LLM Benchmarks initiative, a community-driven platform for MNOs and researchers to validate and improve LLMs for telecom use cases. General LLMs struggle with tasks like interpreting telecom standards or network troubleshooting. Khalifa University’s 6GRC co-leads the Network Management & Configuration track. This collaboration helps define the next generation of tools for the industry.

Khalifa University 6GRC Contribution Highlights

Benchmark Specifics

Co-lead: Network Management & Configuration track

Key Dataset: Shaping TeleYAML, the intent-to-configuration benchmark that translates operator intents into standards-aligned YAML for 5G Core functions and network slicing.

Holistic Evaluation: Broadening the scope to include crucial factors like energy efficiency, Time to First Token, and task latency, ensuring AI solutions are robust and trustworthy.

Quotes and Endorsements

GSMA Executive Quote

“Thanks to our partnership with Khalifa University, the mobile ecosystem stands to benefit from AI capabilities specifically designed for telecommunications, addressing critical areas such as managing network faults and supporting operational decision-making.”— Alex Sinclair, CTO, GSMA

Partner Executive Quote

“We are pleased to enter into this partnership with GSMA… Our 6G Research Center has a successful track record in contributing to local and international telecom projects, and it is fully equipped with its infrastructure and expertise to help develop AI solutions in collaboration with GSMA.”— Professor Bayan Sharif, Provost, Khalifa University

Partner Executive Quote

“By uniting Khalifa University’s research strength with GSMA’s industry leadership, we are poised to set new benchmarks in AI model reliability and innovation. Together, we aim to empower the region’s digital transformation and accelerate scientific progress.”— Prof. Merouane Debbah, Director, 6G Research Center, Khalifa University

GSMA Director Quote

“By partnering with the team at Khalifa University, we have created a collaborative ecosystem that is already accelerating innovation to ensure that AI solutions are fit for purpose in real-world networks.”— Louis Powell, Director of AI Technologies, GSMA

GSMA Open-Telco LLM Benchmarks: GSMA Open-Telco LLM Benchmarks

GSMA Open-Telco LLM Benchmarks 2.0: Open-Telco LLM Benchmarks 2.0 Launch Article

GSMA Open-Telco LLM Leaderboard: Live Open-Telco LLM Benchmarks Leaderboard

News Article: Building Trust in Telecom AI

AI Content Hub: GSMA Foundry AI Resources Page

Whitepaper: GSMA Telecom Language Model Page