Ookla buys CellRebel

In its latest acquisition, Ookla has picked up a Swedish company, CellRebel, that specializes in measurement, analysis and visualization of network data for optimization purposes.

“The complexity of modern networks demands diversified streams of data to fuel holistic insights on performance, quality, and accessibility,” said Doug Suttles, founder and CEO of Ookla. “It is vital that we understand more about consumer experiences with networks, and CellRebel brings billions of daily data points with innovative analytical views to help fulfill this need worldwide.”

Ookla said in a release that CellRebel’s solutions provide “robust localized network experience data” as well as “sophisticated data visualization capabilities” and a “host of novel real-world consumer experience measurements” that will add to Ookla’s portfolio. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Ookla’s portfolio has expanded significantly over the last few years as it has made a number of purchases of companies with various talents related to network testing and analysis. Those have included Rootmetrics, device-based testing and analysis company Solutelia, Wi-Fi planning and optimization company Ekahau and Mosaik, which focused on network mapping and related intelligence. (Read our 2021 interview with Suttles about the company’s direction here.) Ookla itself is part of Ziff Davis.

“We are beyond thrilled to join Ookla and their mission of improving connectivity for everyone,” said Tibor Rathonyi, CellRebel’s founder and CEO. “Ookla’s brand, technology, and presence in the market, combined with CellRebel’s advanced analytics use cases, mass-scale network quality measurements, and user experience data, will position us with must-have solutions for any telecom company building the networks of both the present and the future.”

According to CellRebel’s website, the company gathers daily data samples from more than a billion smartphones, more than 10,000 content/app providers, and more than 800 content delivery network (CDN) and cloud providers. It offers a subscription-based analytics suite that it says “answers all analytical questions related to network connectivity”, as well as a mobile app SDK that provides information targeted at guiding Android and iOS developers on taking network performance into account as they build their apps’ user experience.

ABOUT AUTHOR

Kelly Hill
Kelly Hill
Kelly reports on network test and measurement, as well as the use of big data and analytics. She first covered the wireless industry for RCR Wireless News in 2005, focusing on carriers and mobile virtual network operators, then took a few years’ hiatus and returned to RCR Wireless News to write about heterogeneous networks and network infrastructure. Kelly is an Ohio native with a masters degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, where she focused on science writing and multimedia. She has written for the San Francisco Chronicle, The Oregonian and The Canton Repository. Follow her on Twitter: @khillrcr