Due to the requirements of sports federations for hosting national and international championships and tournaments, the Sports Office of Zurich was looking for a professional Wi-Fi solution for its three sports halls – Saalsporthalle, Hardau, and Im Birch. This solution needed to meet the following criteria:

• Fast internet access for staff, tournament managers, etc., with high availability to ensure live coverage and administration during the event
• Provision of internet access for athletes and the public (public Wi-Fi)
• Secure access for event organizers to their own network infrastructure during major events

This is why the Sports Office of Zurich chose the solution from onway:

• User-friendly web application for managing access for priority user groups
• Simple self-registration for athletes and visitors, with SMS-based authentication, without additional effort for hall management or tenants
• Users do not need to register separately in each hall, as a single self-registration is valid across all three locations
• Compliance with legal regulations for public Wi-Fi providers
• Content filtering to protect against inappropriate material

The Sports Office of Zurich uses a cloud-based Wi-Fi access solution in its three sports halls: Saalsporthalle, Hardau, and Im Birch. The service platform, consisting of the product mpp and a RADIUS server, is operated on a server located in onway’s data center. This means the Sports Office does not need to handle maintenance or software updates. Support is also provided by onway via remote access (VPN). The mpp acts as a captive portal/router/firewall/content filter responsible for the web authentication of visitors and ensuring compliance with legal requirements. With the help of the RADIUS server, hall management can create guest access credentials for prioritized user groups.

The access points connect via VPN tunnels – some of which are automatically established by onway routers – to the onway data center, where they receive their configuration and mpp service.

The installed Wi-Fi solution is also usable in locker rooms where mobile reception is not available, which is particularly valuable for coaches conducting video analysis. Additionally, the Sports Office can view and evaluate usage statistics for each individual hall or across all facilities.

The Sports Office of Zurich is responsible for promoting sports and operating the city’s sports facilities, including indoor and outdoor swimming pools. The city’s three largest sports halls – Saalsporthalle, Hardau, and Im Birch – host a variety of indoor sporting events. Saalsporthalle, with 2,200 seats, is the largest and hosts handball matches including those in the Swiss top league. Hardau, with approximately 1,300 seats, is mainly used for floorball games at the highest level. Im Birch, located in Oerlikon with about 850 seats, is best known for school sports, club activities, and volleyball and basketball competitions

onway is the leading provider of customized communication solutions for all areas of modern network infrastructure. We support over 100 clients from various industries in the design, implementation, operation, and support of secure ICT infrastructures. Our own products include a multi-tenant smart access solution, public hotspots, and mobile solutions for public transport vehicles. In addition, we integrate communication technologies from established vendors to create seamless, future-proof networks. The onway Group is fully certified according to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and ISO/IEC 27001:2022.