Doug Suttles, the former Ookla CEO, recently released an exciting new app called Orb. This collaborative app gives everyday users an NSF advanced awardee’s analysis of their internet connection. In 2023, I joined forces with fellow Ookla executive Jamie Steven to start Orb. Collectively, these measures help us paint a picture of overall network stability through key metrics including latency, packet loss, jitter, and speed. The startup has closed a $3.8 million funding round led by Sidekick Ventures with participation from individual investors.
Orb assesses internet connections through three primary variables: responsiveness, reliability, and speed. Responsiveness is a function of lag, jitter, latency, and packet loss. Reliability measures a lack of responsiveness and packet loss over time. Consumer access to broadband is defined by speed measured by average download and upload speeds. Orb assigns each connection a cumulative Orb score over time that reflects the overall stability of a network connection.
Suttles emphasizes the inadequacy of traditional speed tests, stating, “Speed tests are like the dipstick in your car, which will tell you that you ran out of oil once your car breaks down. We wanted to build a dashboard to tell you that you are low on oil, so you can fix that problem.”
Orb tracks quality of connection. It produces detailed “recipes” for each service to guide the detection of whether specific websites are working as they should. Such features are intended to improve the user experience by giving staff or customers real-time information about service availability.
The real star of the app is its versatility. It works great on Raspberry Pi, Onewrt, Docker, Steam Deck, Prox Max, WLAN Pi, as well as older smartphones. The tool’s installation guide makes it easy for anyone to install the tool on any number of devices, making it a highly accessible tool to a wide audience.
Additionally, Suttles imagines a world where Orb licenses their tech to companies and ISPs. This initiative aims to enable businesses to monitor their networks more effectively and identify issues promptly through advanced alerts and analytics. With the power of Orb at their fingertips, organizations can better optimize their network performance and consumer experience.
With the launch of Orb, we take yet another step forward in the exciting new world of internet connectivity analysis. Suttles and his team would rather be stable than fast. That’s their mission, to arm everyone with the necessary tools to achieve the best possible performance from the internet itself.
