In late 2020, the Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems and Telecommunication (FOITT) issued a new invitation to tender to replace its previously self-managed public WLAN solution. The main goal was to replace the captive portal. Among other things, the requirements included self-registration via SMS, but also issuing vouchers by individual administrative units, as well as generally authorising and blocking devices using MAC addresses. onway won this tender in 2021. In 2022, public WLAN services were migrated from FOITT’s own infrastructure to the onway cloud.

The work included setting up the client’s customers in the onway cloud, setting up and commissioning geo-redundant lines from FOITT to onway’s cloud data centres, and setting up the networks and peerings both at FOITT and at onway. After a successful test and subsequent pilot phase at a few locations, around 500 locations with public WLAN throughout Switzerland were migrated without interruption in the second half of 2022. Thanks to a carefully chosen project team that included all the necessary specialists and decision-makers, the entire infrastructure was set up quickly and without any major issues, especially considering the size of the project. Even short-term challenges during migration could be overcome together promptly and competently.

Here you can find more information about our Public Wi-Fi and Smart Access solutions.