 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 1936; 89 years ago (1936) |
| Headquarters |
|
Key people |
|
| Products | Networkdiagnostics |
| Revenue |  US$460.2 million (2024)[1] |
 US$46.2 million (2024)[1] | |
| US$12.9 million (2024)[1] | |
| Total assets | US$614.2 million (2024)[1] |
| Total equity | US$392.5 million (2024)[1] |
Number of employees | 1,500 (2025)[2] |
| Website | spirent |
Spirent Communications plc is a Britishmultinationaltelecommunications testing company headquartered inCrawley, West Sussex, in the United Kingdom. It is listed on theLondon Stock Exchange and is a constituent of theFTSE 250 Index.
The company was founded byJack Bowthorpe in 1936 as Goodliffe Electric Supplies. In 1949 it changed its name to Bowthorpe. It acquired Optima Electronics in 1987 and disposed of its defence businesses in 1990. The company's electronics business grew rapidly during thedot-com boom of the 1990s, with the 1995 purchase of Telecom Analysis Systems (located inEatontown, New Jersey) and the 1997 purchase of businesses such as Adtech, a digital test equipment concern based in Hawaii[3] and the company was a member of theFTSE 100 index from time to time. It disposed of its automotive industry businesses in 1999, the same year that it bought Netcom Systems, a UStelecomstesting business which makes network equipment testers,[4] and DLS, a Canadiantelecomstesting business.[5] In 2000 it also bought Hekimian, a majorOperations Support Systems business,[6] Zarak Systems, another communications software business[7] and Net-Hopper, an access systems specialist.[8]
In 2000 it changed its name to Spirent. The name is derived from the words "inspired innovation."[9]
It acquired Caw Networks, aSanta Clara company which makes network performance testing appliances including Avalanche, in 2002,[10] Scientific Software Engineering, a United States–based developer of software including Landslide for testing the performance and functionality of wireless network infrastructure, in 2006,[11] Imperfect Networks, an IDS/IPS testing company, in 2006,[12] andFanfare Software, a United States–based developer of theiTest automation software, in 2011.[13]
It went on to buyMu Dynamics, aSunnyvale company which makes cloud and app testing products such as Blitz,[14] and Metrico Wireless, a company involved in mobile device performance analytics for wireless service providers, OEMs and corporate enterprises based inFrederick, Maryland, in 2012.[15]
In July 2014, Spirent acquiredRadvision's Technology Business Unit fromAvaya. Radvision a company based inTel Aviv, Israel, offers development and test suites for voice and video over IP communications.[16]
In September 2014, Spirent announced that it acquired Mobilethink A/S and its wholly owned subsidiary, Tweakker ApS, a provider of mobile device management for mobile operators.[17]
In March 2016, Spirent announced that it had acquired Testing Technologies, a developer of test automation software for the automotive and IoT industries based inBerlin.[18]
In July 2017, both the Tel Aviv operations and Mobilethink were divested by way of amanagement buyout into a separate company, Softil.[19]
In March 2021, Spirent acquired octoScope, a company based inLittleton, Massachusetts that offers solutions for automated Wi-Fi and 5G testing in emulated real-world environments.[20]
In September 2023, Spirent acquired the Test Lab Automation business ofNetscout Systems.[21]
The board of the company accepted a £1 billion takeover offer fromViavi Solutions in March 2024,[22] but was subsequently outbid byKeysight with a £1.16 billion offer later that month. This led Spirent to withdraw its support for the Viavi deal and recommend Keysight's offer.[23]
Spirent Communications PLC is a communications and network testing company. Spirent mainly consists of the former Consultronics (later DLS Testworks) (ofOttawa, Ontario), Netcom Systems (ofChatsworth, California and laterCalabasas, California), Adtech (ofHonolulu, Hawaii), Zarak Systems (ofSunnyvale, California), Caw Networks (ofSan Jose, California), Hekimian (ofRockville, Maryland), Telecom Analysis Systems (ofEatontown, New Jersey) in 1995, Global Simulation Systems (ofPaignton, Devon) in 1997, DLS (ofOttawa, Ontario) in 1998 and a number of other small network test equipment providers that it has acquired such as Imperfect Networks (ofBurlington, Massachusetts).[24]
