Jio partners with TM Forum, launches first innovation hub with focus on using GenAI in telcos

The Innovation Hub programme was unveiled two months ago at TM Forum’s annual DTW

Reliance Industries' (RIL) telecom arm Jio has partnered with TM Forum, a global alliance of telcos and tech companies, to launch the first TM Forum Innovation Hub in Mumbai on December 1. The Innovation Hub will focus on accelerating the development of Generative AI (GenAI), Large Language Models (LLM), and Open Digital Architecture to benefit the industry.

The Innovation Hub programme was unveiled two months ago at TM Forum’s annual DTW –Ignite conference in Copenhagen. The pilot phase of the Innovation Hub programme is expected to conclude in March 2024, with a third pilot project starting shortly. TM Forum Members will be invited to apply to join an existing Innovation Hub project or propose a new one in 2024.

Representatives of Jio, TM Forum, and the Innovation Hub Founding Members, which include Accenture, Deutsche Telekom, Google Cloud, Orange, Telenor, and Vodafone, attended the ceremony held at Reliance Corporate IT Park in Navi Mumbai.

Mumbai was selected as the location for the first TM Forum Innovation Hub as it is the epicentre of global software development talent in India, the companies said in a release.

One of the hub’s first focus areas is the application of Generative AI and LLM to priority use cases for telcos, including developing an architecture blueprint to simplify responsible use of generative AI for brownfield telecoms technology landscapes, including the related challenges of security, privacy, accuracy, performance and scalability.

Among the second set of focus areas would be accelerating the development and adoption of TM Forum’s Open Digital Architecture. “ODA underpins the creation of a modular, componentised, and reusable cloud-native software to replace traditional BSS and OSS. Objectives include creating Reference Implementation(s) of the ODA Canvas and components, as well as migration patterns and innovative approaches to simplify migration from legacy software to ODA-compliant, cloud-native components,” the release added.

Commenting on the launch of the hub, Akash Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, said: “The TM Forum Innovation Hub is about delivering real-world solutions that will change our industry and there is no better way than to lean on talent from across the industry to solve our existing challenges as well as finding better ways to overcome future obstacles. We are delighted to see the first innovation hub open on our Mumbai campus as I believe Mumbai is the perfect location to foster the innovation needed.”

Dr Steffen Roehn, TM Forum Chair and Partner at Bain & Company, said: “The TM Forum Innovation Hub will prove hugely beneficial as our members explore new technologies, more radical approaches to transform their organizations and strengthen their muscles.”

The outcomes of the Innovation Hub projects will benefit the entire TM Forum membership, and the wider industry in several ways, including finding a new way for the industry to collaborate, solving challenges with ‘real’ results that can be practically implemented, and accelerating the development of code assets.

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