Ookla, a global leader in connectivity intelligence, announced a strategic partnership with Imagine Wireless to help airport leaders navigate the complexities of digital transformation. This collaboration, combining Ookla’s world-class network insights with Imagine Wireless’s specialized advisory services, equips aviation stakeholders with the future-proofed strategies and private network expertise necessary to build resilient, next-generation infrastructure.

The alliance leverages Imagine Wireless’s role as a trusted strategic advisor to airports, integrating Ookla’s suite of measurement and analysis tools, including Speedtest Insights, Speedtest Certified, and Ekahau, to validate network performance. By combining Imagine Wireless’s deep domain expertise with Ookla’s data and services, the partnership enables clients to optimize private 5G, Wi-Fi, and public cellular networks.

“At Ookla, our mission is to provide industry-leading network intelligence that empowers organizations to make data-driven decisions,” said Chip Strange, Chief Strategy Officer at Ookla. “By partnering with Imagine Wireless, we are extending the impact of our insights into the critical aviation vertical. This collaboration ensures that airports and enterprise clients have the independent validation and performance metrics necessary to support mission-critical operations and their ambitious digital transformation goals.”

Redefining Connectivity Standards for Aviation

A primary focus of the Ookla-Imagine Wireless relationship is the aviation sector, a vertical that consumes wireless services at significant scale compared to many other industries. As airports increasingly utilize set-aside spectrum for private wireless networks, the need for accurate, independent performance data continues to grow to support core airport operations and long-term infrastructure investment.

The partnership supports the next-generation airport digital modernization initiative, focused on deploying and validating private 5G and advanced Wi-Fi networks that power safety, security, logistics, and passenger experience systems. Independent performance data, including Ookla’s Speedtest Certified methodology, allows the aviation industry to define and validate its connectivity requirements with telecommunications providers and support confirmation of agreed-upon service levels, rather than relying solely on standard commercial benchmarks.

“The aviation sector is now the second largest consumer of mobile operator telecom services globally. Airports are utilizing spectrum for private wireless networks as a critical piece of infrastructure enabling a new digital transformation program we call ‘AviationX’,” said Norman Fekrat, Managing Partner of Imagine Wireless.

Fekrat continued, “While public cellular networks are mostly for consumers/passengers and Wi-Fi is an alternative where public cellular signals don’t reach. Airports are utilizing set-aside spectrum to increase the security and safety around aviation. Our relationship with Ookla is focused on measuring the wireless service levels and Quality of Service (QoS) metrics necessary to deploy next-gen use cases like autonomous vehicles and provide private secure wireless services to their ecosystem.”

Showcasing Innovation at MWC Barcelona and Beyond

The partnership highlights the growing importance of independent third-party validation in complex environments. Ookla’s enterprise solutions support the communications teams responsible for airport networks, helping ensure connectivity keeps pace with the evolving demands for airport operations, passengers, and the broader aviation ecosystem they serve. More information about these solutions is available at www.ookla.com/solutions/airlines-and-airports.

This work aligns with Imagine Wireless’s industry leadership, including their role as a GSMA research partner and contributions to the Smart Airport Summit and the Airport of the Future pavilion at Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2026.

Key benefits of the collaboration include:

• Independent Validation: Utilizing Ookla’s Speedtest Certified methodology to validate that private and public networks meet the specific performance requirements of airport CIOs
• Strategic Network Planning: Leveraging crowdsourced and controlled testing data to identify coverage gaps and optimize infrastructure investment for security and logistics
• Future-Ready Operations: Ensuring networks are robust enough to support “AviationX” use cases, such as autonomous tarmac vehicles and biometric security systems