Sensorly, a French startup that crowdsources network coverage data about mobile operators, has been acquired by Mosaik, a Memphis-based company that provides network intelligence to telecom companies. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded out of Paris in 2010, Sensorly’s mobile app for Android and iOS lets its users see coverage maps and speedtests of their carrier’s 3G, 4G, or Wi-Fi network based on data gathered en masse from Sensorly’s users around the world.
Above: Sensorly for Android
From a consumer standpoint, this helps them make informed decisions about what the best carrier is in their location, while carriers can also use this data to identify blackspots in their coverage. Sensorly is one of a number of companies operating in this realm — others include London-based OpenSignal, and RootMetrics which operates out of Bellevue, Washington.
Founded in 1988, Mosaik already serves as a strategic partner to mobile operators and related services, helping them optimize their network performances using apps and providing other network data. Tapping Sensorly’s arsenal of data will add another string to its bow.
“Mosaik and Sensorly are highly complementary and share a commitment to providing excellent wireless network experience solutions,” said Sensorly founder and CEO, Boris Lacroix. “Our goal is to ensure Sensorly continually evolves to be the most intuitive, flexible and insightful wireless network mapping service for consumers.”
For Sensorly, being part of a larger corporate setup will help it scale more quickly and give it access to Mosaik’s existing client base. For Mosaik, it can now access several more smartphone users on the ground around the world, and gain better insights into the state-of-play across more than 500 mobile operators with unbiased crowdsourced network data. It’s for this reason that Sensorly won’t be shuttered as a result of this acquisition — the inherent value of the company lies in its user base.
That all said, Sensorly doesn’t publish its user numbers, so it’s difficult to know how several smartphones Mosaik will gain access to immediately. For comparison, OpenSignal is the better known brand operating in this space, and it claims around 12 million users globally, with more than 10 million installations on Android alone. Sensorly has secured less than a million downloads on Android, according to Google Play data, while RootMetrics has less than half-a-million.
“We're devoted to Sensorly’s global community and we will continue to invest in and improve Sensorly applications, mapping services, automation and analytics,” confirmed Mosaik president and CEO, Bryan Darr. “Network availability and performance is a significant concern for consumers, operators and businesses that rely on high quality wireless networks.”