networksurvey.app

What It Is

Network Survey is an ecosystem of tools for collecting, transmitting, analyzing, and visualizing cellular and wireless network data. Its core components are Network Survey Android, the NS Messaging API, and NS Analytics: the Android app handles field data collection, the Messaging API streams survey data in real time to an MQTT broker or gRPC server, and NS Analytics provides cloud-based visualization and analysis capabilities.

Core Capabilities and Technical Details

From a developer-tooling perspective, its biggest value lies in its open data pipeline. The NS Messaging API uses two mature protocols, MQTT and gRPC, and defines its message schemas with Protocol Buffers, making it easier to consume data across platforms and integrate with backend systems. The documentation provides an API site, a GitHub repository for protocol definitions, Message Formats documentation, and MQTT/gRPC setup guides, so the onboarding path is relatively clear. One caveat: the Messaging API has expanded to include some message types that may not apply to the Android app, so the actual messages sent by the Android app should still be confirmed against the manual.

Open Source, Self-Hosting, and Pricing

Network Survey Android is clearly labeled as an open-source mobile app. It requires no subscription, is free to download, and is available via IzzyOnDroid and F-Droid. For self-hosting, users can configure their own MQTT broker or gRPC server to receive data, making it suitable for teams that care about data sovereignty and internal analytics pipelines. NS Analytics is a cloud platform; at present, the page only shows “Try Beta” and does not disclose official pricing, plans, SLA, or payment methods.

Pros, Cons, and Best-Fit Users

Its strengths are an open collection client, pragmatic protocol choices, strong real-time capabilities, and the ability to connect to user-owned infrastructure. It should appeal to wireless network engineers, cellular network testers, and IoT data collection teams. The drawbacks are that the main text does not specify exactly which wireless metrics are supported, the device compatibility range, or the availability of commercial support. The cloud analytics platform is still in Beta, and it lacks the compliance, service-level, and cost information typically required for enterprise procurement.

Access from China and Alternatives

Based on the crawled text, its network accessibility, download stability, and payment availability in mainland China cannot be determined, so they should be considered unknown for now. If access is restricted, alternatives or complementary options include WiFiman, NetMonster, CellMapper, Ekahau, Kismet, or collection solutions based on the OpenCelliD ecosystem.