GSMA Foundry Excellence Awards 2027
Now in our sixth year, the GSMA Foundry Excellence Awards continue to recognise projects that demonstrate not only innovation, but also impact, successful delivery, collaboration and the potential to scale.
The GSMA Foundry Excellence Awards celebrate outstanding projects that demonstrate how collaboration and innovation can address real-world challenges and create meaningful impact across the mobile and digital ecosystem.
The awards recognise organisations working with GSMA Foundry to turn innovative ideas into tangible solutions, from artificial intelligence and next-generation connectivity to trust, security and resilience.
GSMA Foundry Excellence Awards 2026 – Highlights video
Who can enter?
The GSMA Foundry Excellence Awards are open to organisations with an existing GSMA Foundry project or initiative. Eligible organisations will be invited to submit their project for consideration within one of the three 2027 award categories.
2027 Award Categories
Excellence in AI & Intelligent Technologies
Recognising Foundry projects that apply AI and intelligent technologies to address real-world challenges and create measurable value for the mobile ecosystem, enterprises or society.
This could include:
- Agentic AI
- AI-enabled networks and operations
- Intelligent services
- Industry applications
- New AI-driven business models
- Initiatives that make AI more accessible and effective across different languages and communities
Primary focus: How AI and intelligent technologies are creating new capabilities, services and measurable value.
Note: Two awards will be presented within this category:
– Excellence in AI Inclusivity: recognising projects that make AI more accessible and effective across different languages and communities, helping ensure the benefits of AI reach a broader and more diverse range of users.
– Excellence in Applied AI: recognising broader applications of AI and intelligent technologies that deliver measurable real-world value.
Excellence in 5G/6G & Connected Innovation
Recognising Foundry projects that use advanced connectivity to enable new services, transform industries and accelerate the adoption of 5G and emerging 6G capabilities.
This could include:
- IoT
- Private networks
- Device ecosystems
- Manufacturing
- Smart mobility
- Quantum
- Connected health
- Other connected-industry applications
Primary focus: How advanced connectivity is enabling new services, industry transformation and scalable real-world use cases.
Excellence in Trust, Security & Resilience
Recognising Foundry projects that make the mobile and digital ecosystem safer, more trusted and resilient.
This could include:
- Digital identity
- Fraud and scam prevention
- Cybersecurity
- Privacy
- Trusted communications
- Quantum-safe technologies
Primary focus: How innovation is strengthening trust, security and resilience across the mobile and digital ecosystem.
Choosing an Award Category
Each project may be submitted to one award category only. Applicants should select the category that most closely reflects the project’s primary objective and outcomes. Where a project spans multiple areas, the category should be selected based on where the project demonstrates its strongest alignment and impact.
What are we looking for?
Entries will be evaluated against five criteria:
- Impact: Evidence of measurable business, operational, industry, societal or customer outcomes.
- Execution & Delivery: How effectively the project has moved from idea to implementation and demonstrated tangible results.
- Collaboration: How effectively organisations have worked together to deliver the project and its outcomes.
- Replicability & Scalability: The potential for the approach to be scaled or replicated across other organisations, markets, industries or use cases.
- Innovation: The originality of the approach and how effectively technology or new thinking has been applied to address the challenge.
Important Dates
- Wednesday 23rd September 2026: Application submissions open
- Friday 27th November 2026: Application submissions close
- Friday 29th January 2026: Shortlisted projects announced
- MWC Barcelona 2027: Winners announced (venue tbc)
Timelines: initiatives completed in the calendar year 2026.
Enter the Awards