CellWatch

An open-source cellular network measurement suite

Please see the FCC Public Notice on CellWatch here

CellWatch is an open-source cellular network measurement suite created by researchers at Georgia Tech, UC Santa Barbara, and Northern Arizona University. It includes several components:

• An Android app capable of taking speed test measurements that comply with the FCC’s requirements for challenging providers’ coverage claims.
• A data portal allowing public access to aggregate, anonymous data collected by the app.
• A community coordination tool to help communities organize measurement campaigns, such as to produce cognizable challenges to providers’ claims of coverage or to create local coverage maps.
• A prediction engine capable of synthesizing multiple datasets, such as Ookla, OpenCellID, and CellWatch data, to predict quality of coverage in a given area.

CellWatch development is currently ongoing. The Android app and the community coordination tool are now ready for public testing.

The CellWatch Android app is under review for use in the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection (BDC) mobile challenge process. In order to receive the third-party mobile speed test app from the FCC, we are seeking public comments until October 17, 2024. Please view the FCC Public Notice for details.

We’re grateful to the Rockefeller Foundation and to the National Science Foundation for funding this work.