Zafaco

What Zafaco does

Zafaco GmbH is a German technology company founded in 2007 and headquartered in Ismaning, Germany, specializing in independent quality measurement and monitoring of telecommunications networks and IT services. The company has built and operates the kyago platform, a multi-award-winning active testing and monitoring system that conducts over 200 million test connections per year across 110+ quality characteristics, covering broadband (DSL, fiber, cable), mobile (GPRS through 5G), IPTV, VoIP, and Wi-Fi. Zafaco is the official European supplier of the BEREC Net Neutrality Reference Measurement System and has developed and operated the German Federal Network Agency's (Bundesnetzagentur) broadband measurement platform and consumer apps since 2015. The company maintains additional offices in Cologne and Eningen unter Achalm and conducts standardized network tests across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Zafaco's product portfolio spans the kyago Desktop, Mobile, and Web applications for crowdsourced measurement; the kyago 4K-ready Test for OTT video quality; a benchmarking platform with a multi-year historical database of DACH telecom KPIs; business intelligence solutions including reporting and location intelligence; and white-label licensing of the kyago stack to partners. The underlying technology is proprietary, certified to ISO 27001, ISO 9001, and ISO/IEC 25051, audited by TÜV SÜD, and aligned with international standards bodies including Broadband Forum, DIN, ETSI, ITU, IETF, and W3C. Recent additions include the Breitbandmessung Nachweisverfahren Mobilfunk app (April 2026) for regulatory mobile underperformance verification, plus new test franchises in Cloud PBX, Web Hosting, and SOHO high-speed business internet.

The business model combines long-term managed services contracts with European regulators (Bundesnetzagentur, BEREC), subscription-based benchmarking services for telecom operators in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, O2 Telefonica, 1&1 and others), and white-label licensing of the kyago platform to partners that deploy it under their own brands. Consumer-facing measurement apps are offered free of charge and ad-free, serving as a data collection surface and a regulatory consumer-protection utility rather than a revenue channel. Marketing is driven primarily through earned media in industry publications such as IMTEST and connect professional, which publish joint test results and act as credibility-building channels for acquiring and retaining enterprise and regulatory customers.

Name

Zafaco

Legal name

zafaco GmbH

Website

https://zafaco.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Zafaco GmbH operates the kyago platform for independent active testing and monitoring of telecom and IT network quality across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, serving regulators (Bundesnetzagentur, BEREC), telecom operators, and large enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ismaning

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Contracts: Long-term contracts with regulatory authorities (Bundesnetzagentur, BEREC) for development and operation of network measurement systems. Bundesnetzagentur contract ongoing since 2015; BEREC Net Neutrality Reference Measurement System contract 2018-2023.
2. Telecom Provider Services: B2B benchmarking and testing services for telecommunications providers. On-going benchmark services for providers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland since 2009.
3. White-Label Licensing: kyago technology licensed to partners under their own brand names. Complete white-label service including operation, maintenance and further development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

zafaco GmbH develops and operates the kyago active testing and monitoring platform, which collects quality-relevant data in IT and communication networks by running fully controlled test connections from the customer perspective. Building on this core platform, the company provides the official German Breitbandmessung broadband measurement system for the Bundesnetzagentur (since 2015), the official BEREC Net Neutrality Reference Measurement System for Europe, an ongoing benchmark of telecom providers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, white-label versions of kyago for partners, and crowdsourcing desktop, mobile and web apps plus a 4K-ready streaming test that supply measurement data at scale.

Product overview

Zafaco GmbH is a technology and market leader for broadband network testing and quality measurement services. Their product portfolio is built around the kyago platform - a multi-award-winning active testing and monitoring solution - combined with the Breitbandmessung (Broadband Measurement) platform developed for the German Bundesnetzagentur. The offering includes the kyago desktop, mobile, and web apps for crowdsourced speed and quality testing, a benchmarking platform for ongoing QoS monitoring, Business Intelligence solutions, and White-Label partnerships. The company also serves as the official European supplier of BEREC's Net Neutrality Reference Measurement System.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• kyago: Active testing and monitoring platform for collecting quality-relevant data in IT and communication networks
• Breitbandmessung
• kyago Desktop App
• kyago Mobile App
• kyago Web App
• kyago 4K-ready Test

Products and services

• kyago Platform Multi-award-winning active testing and monitoring platform for collecting quality-relevant data in IT and communication networks, running fully controlled test connections from the customer perspective for telecom operators, regulators and large enterprises.
• Benchmarking Platform Ongoing benchmark platform checking measurable service quality in convergent networks, maintaining a growing database of quality KPIs from leading DSL, fiber optic, cable, mobile and VoIP providers with over 200 million test connections per year.
• Breitbandmessung (Broadband Measurement Platform) End-user measurement platform operated on behalf of Germany's Bundesnetzagentur since 2015, enabling consumers to independently test the actual performance of their fixed and mobile internet access services.
• Breitbandmessung Nachweisverfahren Mobilfunk App Consumer mobile app developed on behalf of Bundesnetzagentur that lets users measure and document mobile internet performance for use in underperformance claims under new regulations effective April 2026; free and ad-free on iOS and Android.
• BEREC Net Neutrality Reference Measurement System Official European reference measurement system for monitoring Quality of Service, Quality of Experience and traffic management aspects of Internet Access Services, developed under contract for BEREC (Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications).
• kyago Desktop App Installable desktop application for measuring broadband internet access services up to 10 Gbit/s in fixed networks, including net neutrality tests, video streaming tests and automated individual measurements.
• kyago Mobile App Android and iOS mobile app for testing mobile broadband connections (GPRS, 3G, 4G, 5G, WIFI) up to 1000 Mbit/s, including net neutrality tests, audio/video streaming tests and SIP/VoIP tests with location-based result storage.
• kyago Web App Browser-based application for quickly measuring the speed of fixed broadband internet connections, optimized for connections up to 500 Mbit/s, with net neutrality tests and electronic result storage.
• kyago 4K-ready Test Crowdsourced over-the-top test for measuring video streaming quality from different providers, assessing whether broadband networks are 4K-ready by analyzing user experience, functionality and compatibility for 4K UHD content.
• Business Intelligence Solutions Business intelligence solutions including data services, reporting, analysis, dashboards, location intelligence and enterprise portal solutions for transforming quality measurement data into actionable information.
• White-Label Partnership (kyago) White-label model allowing partners (e.g., telecom providers and regulators) to offer the kyago platform and its iOS and Android apps under their own brand names, with zafaco handling operation, maintenance and further development.

Quantifiable outcome

• 685,143 measurements conducted for IPTV test 2026
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BEREC (Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2018Contract awarded July 2018 to develop, implement and validate Net Neutrality Reference Measurement System. zafaco worked with alladin-IT GmbH in consortium. Scope included system architecture, software development, maintenance, and consulting. System enables monitoring of QoS, QoE, and traffic management aspects for regulatory authorities across Europe.
• Deutsche Bahn AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2016Development and operation of customer-focused end-to-end measurement system for measuring network quality in Deutsche Bahn and DB Systel networks. System collects availability and performance data for internet and digital services to supplement hardware monitoring with real customer perception data.
• Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Long-term partnership since 2015 for development and operation of broadband measurement platform and consumer apps. zafaco develops and operates the official German broadband measurement system, including desktop app, mobile app (now Mobilfunk-Check), and measurement tools. Partnership renewed and expanded with new mobile verification procedure app (2026).
• IMTEST (FUNKE Media Group)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerJoint publication of test results with IMTEST consumer magazine. zafaco provides technical testing expertise; IMTEST publishes results for consumer audience. Covers IPTV tests, fixed-line internet provider tests, and mobile network tests.
• connect professionalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerJoint publications with specialist trade magazine including SOHO-Highspeed-Test, Cloud PBX Test, and Web Hosting Test. zafaco provides measurement expertise; magazine provides industry audience and publishing platform.
• TH Köln (University of Applied Sciences)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch cooperation on quality measurement systems. AV QoX project based on IP streaming quality measurement developed jointly. QoE PDN project (Quality of Experience Plug Device for NGN) in ZIM cooperation. wiam.tools research project on WLAN quality measurement using crowdsourcing.
• White-Label PartnersminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerCompanies license kyago technology under their own brand names. zafaco provides complete service including operation, maintenance, and further development. Meets BEREC requirements for national data reference systems.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ookla: Operator of Speedtest.net and the dominant global consumer and enterprise network measurement platform. Direct competitor in fixed and mobile broadband performance testing, with broader global reach than zafaco but weaker DACH regulatory positioning.
• nPerf: European-based crowdsourced network measurement company offering fixed, mobile and Wi-Fi speed tests, with strong presence in France and other EU markets. Direct peer in crowdsourced QoS/QoE measurement and provider benchmarking.
• RootMetrics (Ziff Davis): Independent mobile network performance benchmarking firm acquired by Ziff Davis. Direct peer in mobile network drive-test benchmarking and operator scoring, primarily in the US and UK.
• Opensignal: Mobile network analytics company using crowdsourced data to measure real-world mobile experience. Direct peer in crowdsourced mobile QoE measurement and operator benchmarking reports.
• Tutela (Comlinkdata): Crowdsourced mobile network quality measurement provider offering comparative operator analytics. Direct peer in mobile network QoE benchmarking for telecom operators globally.

Emerging players

• Measurement Lab (M-Lab): Open-source, non-profit network measurement platform providing broadband and net neutrality diagnostics. Comparable mission of independent network measurement, but non-commercial and research-oriented rather than a B2B vendor.

Broad incumbents

• Viavi Solutions: Large public telecom test and measurement vendor serving operators and equipment makers with deep protocol-layer instrumentation. Overlapping with zafaco on service quality assurance, but focused on lab-grade instruments rather than consumer/regulatory crowdsourcing.
• Spirent Communications: Global provider of network test, assurance and analytics solutions for telecom and enterprise networks. Comparable in QoS/QoE measurement methodologies, but operates at the lab/carrier-grade layer with a much broader portfolio.
• Rohde & Schwarz: German-headquartered test and measurement conglomerate with mobile network testing (e.g., ROMES) and QoS benchmarking solutions. Comparable as a German-headquartered telecom testing vendor, but at a vastly larger scale across multiple verticals.

Regional players

• Comarch: Polish-headquartered telecom software vendor offering OSS, BSS and service quality management solutions. Comparable on telecom service quality/assurance, but with a much broader portfolio of operator-facing software and primarily serving Central European carriers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/zafaco
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zafaco-gmbh

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Zafaco