Khalifa University develops a world-leading artificial intelligence model
ABU DHABI, June 25 / WAM / Khalifa University of Science and Technology announced the launch of “TelecomGPT-R1”, the latest artificial intelligence model developed by the university’s Digital Future Institute to serve the telecommunications sector.
The model, which was launched on June 22, topped the “Open Telco Leaderboard” list issued by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), the most prominent standard in the sector for evaluating the performance of artificial intelligence models in real-life communications tasks.
The model was presented at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai 2026 and outperformed all other models that were evaluated, including the most prominent closed source systems developed by major global technology companies.
“TelecomGPT-R1” achieved a performance rate of 89.6% on the list, which is the highest among all models tested, whether open or closed source, general-purpose or dedicated to the telecommunications sector.
This list is managed by the LGSMA, a global organization that unifies the mobile communications ecosystem and includes most of the mobile network operators around the world as members. This list is the widely accepted standard for measuring the extent to which artificial intelligence models are able to meet the technical requirements of actual telecommunications networks.
His Excellency Professor Ibrahim Al-Hajri, President of Khalifa University, said: “TelecomGPT-R1 represents a model of what Khalifa University seeks to achieve by linking advanced scientific research with the future needs of vital sectors. Such achievements not only contribute to the development of next-generation technologies such as 6G technologies, but also enhance the university’s role in producing knowledge, innovation, and building national capabilities in areas of strategic priority for the UAE.”
He added: “Qualitative research achievements are an essential factor in consolidating the global standing of universities and enhancing their academic competitiveness. This achievement comes at a time when Khalifa University has achieved its highest ranking ever in the QS World University Rankings 2027, advancing 30 places to 147th place globally, in confirmation of the strength of its research system, the breadth of its scientific impact, and its effective partnerships with the industrial sector.”
For his part, Lewis Powell, Director of Artificial Intelligence Technologies at the GSMA, said that developing models specific to the telecommunications sector that are accurate, efficient and reliable is an essential step to expanding the scope of the application of artificial intelligence in the sector, congratulating Khalifa University on this achievement.
The model was developed entirely from scratch to be specific to the telecommunications sector, combining technical linguistic understanding, network reasoning, and operational knowledge into one integrated system.
Unlike general-purpose models that often struggle to cope with the industry’s highly specialized knowledge, the TelecomGPT-R1 is designed to support tasks such as network troubleshooting, fault analysis, and setup and configuration assistance – capabilities that the telecom industry will increasingly rely on as networks move toward greater automation and reliance on artificial intelligence.
The model is open source, allowing telecom network operators, technology suppliers and researchers to examine, test and adapt it to suit their own systems.
Professor Marwan Dabbah, Senior Director of the Digital Future Institute at Khalifa University, said: “The TelecomGPT-R1 model proves that open artificial intelligence models in the telecommunications sector are capable of leading this field, not just participating in it. Topping the Open Telco Leaderboard list issued by the GSMA is an important milestone for Khalifa University and the Digital Future Institute, and reflects our commitment to building transparent artificial intelligence systems that are closely related to the sector’s needs for the future of communications.”
“TelecomGPT-R1” comes as a continuation of a broader research program led by Khalifa University and the Digital Future Institute, focusing on artificial intelligence for next generation networks, and includes language models dedicated to the telecommunications sector, basic models for radio frequencies, and artificial intelligence systems dedicated to reasoning related to technical standards.
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