Accenture agrees to acquire Ookla to expand network intelligence

Accenture said on March 3, 2026 that it has entered an agreement to acquire Ookla, the Seattle-based network intelligence company whose brands include Speedtest, Downdetector, Ekahau and RootMetrics. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

What Accenture is buying

Ookla was founded in 2006 and is a division of Ziff Davis. Its roughly 430 employees work in software engineering, radio frequency engineering and data science. The company’s data platform is built on more than 250 million consumer-initiated tests per month, alongside controlled drive, walk and embedded testing, and captures more than 1,000 attributes per test.

Accenture says the deal will let it help communications service providers, hyperscalers and enterprises optimise the Wi-Fi and 5G networks that carry their digital operations.

Why network data matters now

According to Accenture, network data is no longer only a telecoms concern. As AI workloads scale, the company argues, measurements taken at the network, device and application layers become inputs for fraud prevention in banking, smart home analytics in utilities and traffic optimisation in retail.

Julie Sweet, Accenture’s chair and chief executive, framed measurement as a precondition for everything else: “Modern networks have evolved from simple infrastructure into business-critical platforms. Without the ability to measure performance, organizations cannot optimize experience, revenue, or security.”

Manish Sharma, Accenture’s chief strategy and services officer, said Speedtest and RootMetrics define the user experience, Downdetector identifies incidents faster and Ekahau supports digital workplace projects through Wi-Fi.

Three groups of customers

Accenture lists three main audiences for the combined offering. Telecom operators can use real-time data and predictive simulations for benchmarking and capital planning; cloud providers need visibility into AI infrastructure and edge data centres; and enterprises can design and troubleshoot private 5G and Wi-Fi networks with Ekahau’s hardware and software.

“Joining Accenture will allow us to scale our premiere network data business across the world’s largest enterprises,” said Stephen Bye, chief executive of Ookla.

Accenture employs roughly 784,000 people. The acquisition remains subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.