Speedtest.net owner Ookla acquires RootMetrics
Networking
Ookla, the company best known for its Speedtest.net and Downdetector services, has acquired RootMetrics, a firm specializing in mobile network performance measurement services.
Both companies have long been a favorite of mobile network operators: their names frequently show up in broadband providers' and carriers' communications whenever a given company's network performs well. RootMetrics' RootScore is a particularly popular measurement tool for gauging network performance across the US.
Ookla CEO and co-founder Doug Suttles claims the transaction will provide customers of both companies with "the network assessment trifecta of crowd measurement, controlled testing and consumer perception."
Ookla plans to continue operating RootMetrics as an independent brand. It will, however, begin offering combined analytics packages that bring together network diagnostic offerings with software products, crowdsourced testing capabilities, and data science services.
Ookla noted that the combined firm's goal will be to leverage the assets of RootMetrics and the recently acquired WINd suite of mobile performance testing tools to help clients "better understand, market, deploy, and optimize their networks."
RootMetrics CEO Kevin Halsey said the transaction "completes the vision that Doug [Suttles] and I had when we first met years ago."
As carriers across the country continue jockeying for 5G mobile supremacy and home broadband dominance, reports provided by combined companies will be integral to attracting both customers and investors.
No financial terms for the transaction were disclosed.