The GSMA — along with ETSI, IEEE GenAINet, the ITU, and TM Forum — today opened an innovation challenge calling on telco operators, AI researchers, and startups to build large-language models (LLMs) capable of root-cause analysis (RCA) for telecom network faults.  The AI Telco Troubleshooting Challenge is supported by Huawei, InterDigital, NextGCloud, RelationalAI, xFlowResearch and technical advisors from AT&T.

The new competition invites teams to submit AI models in three categories: Generalization to New Faults will assess the best performing LLMs for RCA; Small Models at the Edge will evaluate lightweight edge-deployable models; and Explainability/Reasoning will focus on the AI systems that clearly explain their reasoning. Additional categories will include securing edge-cloud deployments and enabling AI services for application developers.

The goal is to deliver AI tools that help operators automatically identify, diagnose, and (eventually) remediate network problems — potentially reducing both downtime and operational costs. This marks a concrete step toward turning “telco-AI” from pilot projects into operational infrastructure.

As telecom networks scale (5G, 5G-Advanced, edge, IoT), faults and failures become costlier. Automating fault detection and troubleshooting with AI could significantly boost network resilience, reduce manual labor, and enable faster recovery from outages.

“Large Language Models have become instrumental in the pursuit of autonomous, resilient and adaptive networks,” said Prof. Merouane Debbah, General Chair of IEEE GenAINet ETI. “Through this challenge, we are tackling core research and engineering challenges, such as generalisation to unseen network faults, interpretability and edge-efficient AI, that are vital for making AI-native telecom infrastructures a reality. IEEE GenAINet ETI is proud to support this initiative, which serves as a testbed for future-ready innovations across the global telco ecosystem.”

“ITU’s global AI challenges connect innovators with computing resources, datasets, and expert mentors to nurture AI innovation ecosystems worldwide,” said Seizo Onoe, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. “Crowdsourcing new solutions and creating conditions for them to scale, our challenges boost business by helping innovations achieve meaningful impact.”

“The future of telecoms depends on the autonomation of network resiliency – shifting from static infrastructure to AI-driven, context-aware, self-optimising networks. TM Forum’s AI-Native Blueprint provides the architectural foundation to make this reality, and the AI Telco Troubleshooting Challenge aligns perfectly to support the industry in moving beyond isolated pilots to production-grade resilient autonomation,” said Guy Lupo, AI and Data Mission lead at TM Forum.

The initiative builds on recent breakthroughs in applying AI to network operations, leveraging curated datasets such as TeleLogs and benchmarking frameworks developed by GSMA and its partners under the GSMA Open-Telco LLM Benchmarks community, which includes a  leaderboard that highlights how various LLMs perform on telco-specific use cases.

“Network faults cost operators millions annually and root cause analysis is a critical pain point for operators,” said Louis Powell, Director of AI Technologies at GSMA. “By harnessing AI models capable of reasoning and diagnosing unseen faults, the industry can dramatically improve reliability and reduce operational costs. Through this challenge, we aim to accelerate the development of LLMs that combine reasoning, efficiency and scalability.”

“We are encouraged by the upside of this challenge after our team at AT&T fine-tuned a 4-billion-parameter small language model that topped all other evaluated models on the GSMA Open-Telco LLM Benchmarks (TeleLogs RCA task), including frontier models such as GPT-5, Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Grok-4,” said Andy Markus, Chief Data Officer at AT&T. “This challenge has the right mix of an important business problem and a technical opportunity, and we welcome the industry’s collaboration to take it to the next level.”

The AI Telco Troubleshooting Challenge is open for submissions on the 28^th November and it closes on 1^st February 2026, with the winners announced at a dedicated prize-giving session at MWC26 Barcelona.

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Separately, the GSMA Foundry and Khalifa University announced a strategic collaboration to develop “TelecomGPT,” a dedicated LLM for telecom applications, plus an Open-Telco Knowledge Graph based on 3GPP specifications.

• These assets are intended to help the industry overcome limitations of general-purpose LLMs, which often struggle with telecom-specific technical contexts. PR Newswire+2Mobile World Live+2

• The plan: make TelecomGPT and related knowledge tools available for operators, vendors and researchers to accelerate AI-driven telco innovations. PR Newswire+1

Why it matters: A specialized “telco-native” LLM could improve automation, operations, R&D and standardization efforts — for example, helping operators configure networks, analyze logs, or build AI-powered services. It represents a shift toward embedding AI more deeply into core telecom infrastructure and operations.

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About GSMA
The GSMA is a global organization unifying the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organizations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA delivers for its members across three broad pillars: Connectivity for Good, Industry Services and Solutions, and Outreach. This activity includes advancing policy, tackling today’s biggest societal challenges, underpinning the technology and interoperability that make mobile work, and providing the world’s largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events.

We invite you to find out more at gsma.com

About ETSI

ETSI is one of only three bodies officially recognized by the European Union as a European Standards Organization (ESO). It is an independent, not-for-profit body dedicated to ICT standardisation. With over 900 member organizations from more than 60 countries across five continents, ETSI offers an open and inclusive environment for members representing large and small private companies, research institutions, academia, governments, and public organizations. ETSI supports the timely development, ratification, and testing of globally applicable standards for ICT‑enabled systems, applications, and services across all sectors of industry and society. More on: etsi.org

About IEEE GenAINet

The aim of the IEEE Large Generative AI Models in Telecom Emerging Technology Initiative (GenAINet ETI) is to create a dynamic platform of research and innovation for academics, researchers, and industry leaders to advance the research on large generative AI in Telecom, through collaborative efforts across various disciplines, including mathematics, information theory, wireless communications, signal processing, networking, artificial intelligence, and more. More on: https://genainet.committees.comsoc.org

About ITU

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations agency for digital technologies, driving innovation for people and the planet with 194 Member States and a membership of over 1,000 companies, universities, civil society, and international and regional organizations. Established in 1865, ITU coordinates the global use of the radio spectrum and satellite orbits, establishes international technology standards, drives universal connectivity and digital services, and is helping to make sure everyone benefits from sustainable digital transformation, including the most remote communities. From artificial intelligence (AI) to quantum, from satellites and submarine cables to advanced mobile and wireless broadband networks, ITU is committed to connecting the world and beyond. Learn more: www.itu.int

About TM Forum

TM Forum is an alliance of over 800 organizations spanning the global connectivity ecosystem, including the world’s top ten Communication Service Providers (CSPs), top three hyperscalers and Network Equipment Providers (NEPs), vendors, consultancies and system integrators, large and small. We provide a place for our Members to collaborate, innovate, and deliver lasting change. Together, we are building a sustainable future for the industry in connectivity and beyond. To find out more, visit: www.tmforum.org

References:

The AI Telco Troubleshooting Challenge Launches to Transform Network Reliability

AI Telco Troubleshooting Challenge global launch webinar

https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/gsma-foundry-and-khalifa-university-to-accelerate-ai-innovation-with-the-development-of-telecomgpt-302625362.html

GSMA Vision 2040 study identifies spectrum needs during the peak 6G era of 2035–2040

Gartner: Gen AI nearing trough of disillusionment; GSMA survey of network operator use of AI