Why Accenture is Spending a Billion on Five Telco Brands

Ziff Davis has sold its Connectivity division to Accenture for US$1.2bn in cash, bringing a group of widely used network intelligence and measurement platforms into the consulting firm’s portfolio.

The deal centres on tools that telco companies rely on to measure and optimise network performance.

The division includes Ookla, Speedtest, Ekahau, Downdetector and RootMetrics. Each platform focuses on network testing or incident detection across fixed broadband and Wi-Fi infrastructure.

Together they form a widely recognised set of services used by communications service providers (CSPs) to assess connectivity quality and customer experience.

In 2025, the Connectivity division produced US$231m in revenue, accounting for about 16% of Ziff Davis’ overall revenue.

Value realisation for Ziff Davis

The transaction represents a major portfolio move for Ziff Davis, as selling the Connectivity business is releasing capital while transferring a specialised network analytics operation to a global consulting group.

“This is a transformative deal for Ziff Davis, representing a significant realisation of value for our shareholders and a concrete illustration of the quality of the businesses in our portfolio,” says Vivek Shah, CEO of Ziff Davis.

Shah continues: “I would like to thank our colleagues at Connectivity for building a terrific business that delivers best-in-class network intelligence and optimization solutions to service providers, enterprises and regulators all around the world.

“The Connectivity team is thrilled at the prospect of joining Accenture, a leading global solutions and services company.”

The company states that proceeds from the sale support general corporate purposes and capital allocation activities. These uses include obligations connected with its outstanding debt securities.

The divestment moves a key set of network measurement tools into the hands of a global technology consultancy that already works closely with operators on digital transformation.

Accenture targets AI-led network intelligence

Accenture positions the acquisition as a way to embed network measurement and analytics directly into transformation projects involving AI and advanced enterprise networks.

Ookla, the company behind the widely used Speedtest platform, has been acquired. Its speedtest feature allows users to measure internet performance by running tests between their device and test servers distributed across networks.

Ookla’s platform collects more than 1,000 data attributes during each test. These include latency, throughput and packet loss, which together help explain how a network behaves. The system records over 250 million consumer-initiated tests each month.

“Modern networks have evolved from simple infrastructure into business-critical platforms,” says Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO of Accenture.

“Without the ability to measure performance, organisations cannot optimise experience, revenue or security.

“By acquiring Ookla, we will help our clients across business and government scale AI safely and build the trusted data foundations they need to deliver the reliable, seamless connectivity that creates value.”

These datasets become increasingly important for telcos as networks support AI workloads, edge computing deployments and private 5G systems within enterprise environments.

Manish Sharma, Chief Strategy and Services Officer at Accenture, says: “Speedtest and RootMetrics define the experience, Downdetector identifies incidents faster and Ekahau drives digital workplace transformation through superior Wi-Fi.

“In an era of omni-channel and agentic access, low-latency, zero-friction connectivity is a competitive necessity – and these tools give enterprises the power to build the high-performance environments they need.”

Implications for operators and enterprise networks

For communications service providers, network analytics increasingly underpin operational planning. Large fixed and mobile networks generate vast amounts of telemetry data, yet operators often struggle to translate that data into decisions about capacity upgrades or coverage improvements.

Accenture intends to combine Ookla’s measurement platforms with AI to support planning and simulation across infrastructure networks. These capabilities may help operators forecast demand patterns and optimise capital spending across fibre and mobile roll-outs.

Enterprises represent another area of focus. Many organisations now operate complex campus networks built around Wi-Fi and private cellular technologies such as private 5G. Designing and maintaining those networks requires specialised planning tools.

Stephen Bye, CEO of Ookla, says joining Accenture will expand the reach of its data platform.

“Joining Accenture will allow us to scale our premiere network data business across the world’s largest enterprises and accelerate our goal of creating better connected experiences.

“Our combined capabilities will enable us to more effectively serve CSPs, AI infrastructure providers, edge data centers and enterprise networks.

“Together, we will redefine how the world measures, understands and experiences connectivity.”