Today, Ookla announced the launch of Speedtest Certified, a program that offers the company’s endorsement to properties with “superior connectivity,” according to the official announcement.
Telecompetitor spoke with Ookla Lead Industry Analyst Mark Giles about the new Speedtest Certified program.
“Assessing and providing some validation for properties is something that’s been on our radar for quite some time,” Giles said. “The challenge has always been: You can’t do it very well with crowdsourced data, because it’s variable. You need a controlled test.”
The Ookla press release lists “hotels, stadiums, event venues, office buildings, and airports” as the properties most likely to benefit from the Speedtest Certified program. (Telecompetitor asked about universities. “That’s a good example,” Giles said. “I’m going to make a note.”)
For now, the program will test and certify Wi-Fi networks. “Speedtest Certified will provide a comprehensive and objective assessment of a venue’s enterprise network deployment, measuring key factors such as Wi-Fi radio frequency (RF) quality, Wi-Fi network configuration, Wi-Fi network security assessment, network performance metrics, and ISP backhaul,” the press release said.
“It’s a little more complicated,” said Giles, “but we’re planning to expand [to cellular] in 2026 to get a more comprehensive view for users.”
Giles said the first properties have already been tested, and announcements about their certifications are forthcoming.
He described the process: After a property owner requests certification, Ookla will audit their network. They’ll receive a report about the various metrics that were measured.
Part of the challenge is finding the appropriate conditions for testing. Using the example of a stadium, Giles said, “When do you do the assessment? Do you do it when a match is happening? Which would make more sense, as opposed to going in and measuring when no one is there. It’s incumbent on us to make sure we set the bar high enough.”
If a property doesn’t meet the Ookla Speedtest Certified threshold at first, there’s “a grace period to go back to the drawing board on their side, to understand where they need to make improvements, make those improvements, and then retest.”
What happens if a property still doesn’t meet the threshold after the grace period and retest? “I’d have to get back to you on what happens after that,” Giles said.
As with similar certifications, the property can display Ookla Speedtest Certified badges both onsite and on their website after being certified.
Giles said Ookla hopes to make the certification’s price point feasible even for smaller properties. “We want to make sure it doesn’t just gravitate toward the locations that can afford it.” Both the “mom and pop coffee shop and the Starbucks” should have access, he said.
Ookla Speedtest Certified for Broadband Providers?
Telecompetitor asked Giles whether Ookla would ever adapt their Speedtest Certified program for a broadband provider’s network.
Giles described the idea as an interesting challenge, acknowledging that most of Ookla’s current awards are for national companies. Thinking on the fly, he said, “There’s been a gradual shift in thinking — with the rivalry between 5G and fiber — about what constitutes enough for a connection. Are you chasing gigabit speeds or is it a baseline — like, 95% of the time you’re getting at least 100 Mbps?”
He suggested that certification for broadband providers could be based on a combination of speed and reliability. “If you’re able as a provider to say, ‘95% of the time, people on our network achieve above the FCC’s minimum speeds for broadband,’ that would be really good.”
For now, the Ookla Speedtest Certified program is limited to the program. For the future… we’ll see.
