As a leading telecom and digital services provider, du has partnered with Microsoft, Nokia, Khalifa University’s 6G Research Center and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to launch a first-of-its-kind Arabic Telecom large language model (LLM).
The landmark collaboration is designed to drive efficiency, automation and AI-driven innovation across systems at du. It also hopes to bring together global technology innovation, regional research leadership and international policy guidance to co-create an AI model that can serve critical telecom functions in Arabic – a first for the industry.
Known as the du Arabic Telecom LLM, the model is tailored for internal telecom operations specifically to enhance the efficiency of du’s processes, in addition to advancing the UAE’s vision for sovereign AI capabilities.
“du Arabic Telecom LLM reflects our commitment to improving internal efficiency and customer experiences using advanced, culturally attuned solutions,” says Saleem AlBlooshi, chief technology officer at du.
“Together with our esteemed partners, Microsoft, Nokia, Khalifa University and ITU, we are building a future where AI speaks our language, understands our context and drives real operational transformation and impactful customer exp.”
The telecom assistant will also enable real-time customer complaint handling, device issue resolution and intelligent operational insights through dialogue that is culturally fluent and context aware.
Additionally, the model is built to ensure alignment with linguistic precision and cultural nuances specific to the UAE market. Developed in the UAE, it reflects the region’s language and cultural standards. Looking ahead, it hopes to ensure accurate and meaningful applications for internal telecom use across national critical infrastructure.
du embarked on a million-dollar dela with Microsoft earlier in the year to develop a new hyperscale data centre in the UAE. The goal was to further build out AI infrastructure in the region, specifically to make the Middle East a digital hub.
“This deal represents a pivotal leap in our strategic goal to revolutionise the digital ecosystem of the UAE,” Fahad Al Hassawi, CEO of du, shared at the time.
Moving forward, this extended collaboration hopes to lay the groundwork for extending du Arabic Telecom LLM’s capabilities beyond internal operations to include customer-facing functions and multilingual support, which du says should pave the way for broader innovation opportunities.
Alongside its partners, du is committed to advancing the LLM as a benchmark for localised and responsible AI applications in the telecom industry and beyond.
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