The Cloud Networks
The Cloud Networks is a Munich-based managed WiFi provider operating Europe's largest professional WiFi network, serving schools, hospitality, healthcare, municipalities, and retailers across 35 countries. It is a subsidiary of European telecom group Wifirst.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersMünchen, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Cloud Networks does
The Cloud Networks Germany GmbH (branded as The Cloud) is a Munich-headquartered managed WiFi provider operating what it describes as Europe's largest professional WiFi network, with 45,000+ installed access points across 35 countries serving nearly 10 million users and 70+ million sessions per month. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the European telecommunications group Wifirst following a 2024 acquisition, and it retains a sister-brand subsidiary, hotsplots GmbH, under the Wifirst Group umbrella. Its core product is a German-hosted cloud platform for centralized management of public, private, and virtual WiFi networks, deployed across five industry verticals — Schools (under the German DigitalPakt funding program, with 600 schools equipped and partner status for the federal states of Berlin and Rheinland-Pfalz), Hospitality (hotels, campsites, railway stations, airports including Accor brands, Louvre Hotel Group, Le Meridien, DoubleTree), Healthcare (clinics and care facilities including Helios Kliniken, Universitätsklinikum Düsseldorf, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Waldburg-Zeil Kliniken, Korian, with WiFi 6 deployments), City WiFi (100+ European municipalities including Mönchengladbach, Würzburg, Passau, Darmstadt, Stockholm, Recklinghausen), and Retail (TotalEnergies, Intersport, Norauto, Backwerk, Coffeefellows, plus integrated digital experience platform capabilities for personalized marketing and customer analytics).
The company's go-to-market is primarily enterprise field sales organized by vertical, with dedicated Key Account Managers, supported by inside sales (hotline +49 89 419422-0, 24/7 support 0800 222 555 2), and a location-partner channel model where hotels, schools, cities, and retailers host the access points. Revenue is generated through a combination of recurring subscription fees for managed WiFi services, hardware sales (access points, routers, cabling), professional services (installation, planning, structured cabling with active and passive components), PayGo pay-per-use vouchers, and marketing/analytics applications enabled by the digital experience platform. Operations are run from Munich (HQ), Heinsberg, Offenbach, and Stockholm (Nordic regional HQ under The Cloud Networks Nordic AB, reg. no. 556667-4601). The platform is ISO 9001 certified and positioned around German data sovereignty and GDPR compliance as a differentiator against non-EU cloud competitors. Since the 2024 Wifirst acquisition, founder Achim Möhrlein continues as CEO, and the company has emphasized European footprint expansion and integration with Wifirst's telecom infrastructure capabilities.
The Cloud Networks firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Cloud Networks
- Legal name
- The Cloud Networks Germany GmbH
- Website
- https://thecloud.eu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Cloud Networks is a Munich-based managed WiFi provider operating Europe's largest professional WiFi network, serving schools, hospitality, healthcare, municipalities, and retailers across 35 countries. It is a subsidiary of European telecom group Wifirst.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Cloud Networks industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Managed WiFi Network Services
- NAICS
- Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (51711), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)
- SIC
- Communications Services, Nec (4899), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Managed Wi‑Fi & WLAN Services (Campus/Branch) (HDAIAGAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Carrier & Public Venue Wi‑Fi (Hotspot/Passpoint/NGH) (HDAFACAI), Network Architecture & Design Services (BPAEAEAA), Cloud & Hybrid Network Management (Multi-Cloud Networking Ops) (HDAFAMAJ), Cloud Managed Services (Operations, Monitoring, Patching) (BPAEACAF)
Keywords
Where The Cloud Networks is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- München
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
The Cloud Networks business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Subscription WiFi Services: Recurring subscription fees from enterprise customers (hotels, schools, healthcare facilities, cities) for WiFi network services including installation, maintenance, and ongoing support.
- PayGo WiFi (Voucher Sales): Pay-per-use WiFi access through vouchers sold at hotel receptions, online portal, or authorized sales points. Customers purchase vouchers with specific usage durations.
- Free WiFi Service: Free WiFi service for end users, monetized through location partners who pay for customer WiFi infrastructure and potentially through advertising/marketing applications.
- Hardware Sales: Sale of network equipment including access points, routers, cabling, and related infrastructure components as part of turnkey WiFi solutions.
- Professional Services: Installation, planning, and maintenance services for WiFi network infrastructure. Includes structured network cabling with active and passive components.
- Marketing Applications: WiFi-based marketing applications along customer journey for retail, including personalized offers and customer analytics solutions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Custom enterprise pricing based on scope and requirements |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels9 records
The Cloud Networks product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Cloud Networks designs, deploys, and operates professional managed WiFi network solutions for large organizations across five verticals — Schools, Hospitality, Healthcare, City WiFi, and Retail. Services include infrastructure planning, installation of access points and structured cabling, centralized cloud-based network management, 24/7 monitoring and support, and optional PayGo voucher-based pay-per-use access for end users.
Product overview
The Cloud Networks operates as Europe's largest provider of professional WiFi networks, offering five industry-specific WiFi solutions (Schools, Hospitality, Healthcare, City WiFi, and Retail) on a unified German platform. The company manages over 45,000 WiFi access points across 35 countries, serving approximately 10 million users with over 70 million sessions per month. Solutions range from DigitalPakt school infrastructure (School WiFi) to turnkey hospitality networks and city-wide municipal WiFi deployments, all supported by 24/7 service and centralized network management.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- School WiFi (Schul-WLAN)
Quantifiable outcome
- 600 schools equipped under German DigitalPakt scheme
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use The Cloud Networks
Customer profileNamed customers26 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
The Cloud Networks technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
The Cloud Networks partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators8 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights7 records
The Cloud Networks competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Fortinet: Fortinet offers FortiAP WiFi access points managed through FortiGate security appliances and FortiLAN cloud, often bundled with its core firewall/security business. It is increasingly competing for unified enterprise networking and security spend, including in European education and healthcare verticals where The Cloud Networks is also active.
- HPE Aruba Networking: HPE Aruba is a major enterprise WLAN vendor offering WiFi access points, controllers, and Aruba Central cloud management. It competes in hospitality, education, healthcare, and large venue WiFi, often via channel partners, and represents a broad incumbent threat to vertical-specialized managed WiFi services from a hardware-platform angle.
- Extreme Networks: Extreme Networks is an enterprise networking vendor with strong presence in education, hospitality, and large venue WiFi deployments across Europe and globally. Its ExtremeCloud management platform competes in the same managed-WiFi category and has historically been selected for high-density public WiFi and stadium deployments.
- Cisco (Meraki): Cisco Meraki is a cloud-managed WiFi, switching, and SD-WAN platform sold as part of Cisco's broader enterprise networking portfolio. While not a vertical-specialized managed service provider like The Cloud Networks, it competes for the same enterprise WLAN budgets and offers cloud-based network management as a subscription, serving as the most pervasive incumbent alternative for German and European customers.
Emerging players
- Purple WiFi: Purple WiFi (Purple.ai) is a UK-based guest WiFi and analytics platform that targets retail, hospitality, and venue customers with marketing-focused captive portal features. It overlaps with The Cloud Networks' retail vertical and digital experience platform integrations, particularly around guest analytics and marketing applications.
- Cloud4Wi: Cloud4Wi is an Italian-origin cloud platform for guest WiFi, location analytics, and marketing automation used by retail and hospitality chains globally. It competes head-to-head with The Cloud Networks on the analytics and marketing applications layer of enterprise WiFi, often as a software overlay on third-party hardware.
- Nomadix: Nomadix provides internet gateways and cloud-managed guest WiFi services targeted at hotels, cruise ships, and multi-tenant venues. It competes primarily in the hospitality vertical where The Cloud Networks has named accounts such as Accor and Le Meridien, with an overlapping value proposition around guest experience and managed connectivity.
- Ubiquiti: Ubiquiti provides UniFi access points and a cloud-managed controller at price points attractive to small and mid-market venues. While focused more on prosumer/SMB and self-managed customers than the enterprise managed-service model of The Cloud Networks, it offers an alternative for cost-sensitive hospitality and retail buyers evaluating build-vs-buy decisions.
Direct peers
- Wifirst: Wifirst is the parent company of The Cloud Networks and a French managed-WiFi operator serving student residences, hotels, campgrounds, and enterprise sites across France and Europe. It is the most direct comparable in business model, vertical specializations, and managed-service delivery, and its acquisition of The Cloud Networks makes them part of the same group pursuing a pan-European managed WiFi rollup.
Regional players
- Social WiFi: Social WiFi is a Poland-based guest WiFi marketing analytics platform serving retailers, restaurants, and venues across Central Europe. It is comparable in offering SME venues a marketing layer on top of WiFi and competes with The Cloud Networks' retail vertical customers in adjacent European geographies.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Cloud Networks social profiles
Digital presenceThe Cloud Networks compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
The Cloud Networks financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Cloud Networks leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
The Cloud Networks subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
The Cloud Networks funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Cloud Networks M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Cloud Networks
What does The Cloud Networks do?
The Cloud Networks designs, deploys, and operates professional managed WiFi network solutions for large organizations across five verticals — Schools, Hospitality, Healthcare, City WiFi, and Retail. Services include infrastructure planning, installation of access points and structured cabling, centralized cloud-based network management, 24/7 monitoring and support, and optional PayGo voucher-based pay-per-use access for end users.
Is The Cloud Networks a public or private company?
The Cloud Networks is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was The Cloud Networks founded?
The Cloud Networks was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Cloud Networks based?
The Cloud Networks is headquartered in München, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does The Cloud Networks make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Subscription WiFi Services are the primary driver. The others are payGo WiFi (Voucher Sales), free WiFi Service, hardware Sales, professional Services and marketing Applications.
Who are The Cloud Networks's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Fortinet, HPE Aruba Networking, Extreme Networks and Cisco (Meraki). Emerging players are Purple WiFi, Cloud4Wi, Nomadix and Ubiquiti. Wifirst is listed as a direct peer. Social WiFi is listed as a regional player.
Does The Cloud Networks have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Cloud Networks.
What industry is The Cloud Networks in?
The Cloud Networks's product category is Managed WiFi Network Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAIAGAB, Managed Wi‑Fi & WLAN Services (Campus/Branch), with a secondary code of HDAFACAI, Carrier & Public Venue Wi‑Fi (Hotspot/Passpoint/NGH). Its NAICS code is 51711 and its SIC code is 4899.