Helium Founders, T-Mobile launches crypto-powered 5G mobile service

Crypto-powered wireless network Helium will soon be able to introduce its mobile 5G vision to many more users. Today, Helium network founder Nova Labs announced that it has partnered with T-Mobile to create a new 5G wireless service called Helium Mobile.

Helium Mobile will be a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) and will use both T-Mobile and Helium networks for customers in the US. Scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2023, the service will rely on both T-Mobile’s nationwide 5G network and Helium’s user-controlled 5G nodes.

T-Mobile and Nova Labs have signed a five-year agreement to operate the service.

By combining networks and switching between the two as needed, Nova Labs says the service will offer two significant financial differences from traditional services: plans start at just $5 per month, and users can also optionally earn crypto token rewards for sharing data.

Boris Renski, co-founder and CEO of Nova Labs-owned firmware and hardware maker FreedomFi, said the use of Helium’s decentralized 5G network – which includes more than 4500 currently active user-controlled nodes – means that Nova does not need to invest in capital expenditure to build out infrastructure.

“It allows us to build a cellular network with absolutely disruptive economics,” he said Decrypt.

On top of that, Helium Mobile will allow users to choose to receive the network’s MOBILE token rewards in exchange for providing anonymized data about their network usage. Renski said the service will treat such users as contributors, since the data will be used to monitor network quality and availability as it scales — but that’s purely optional.

Helium is a network of decentralized wireless hotspots that incentivize users with crypto tokens to run a node and support the network. The first Helium network, focused on powering Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as sensors and trackers, has more than 950,000 node operators at the present time.

The 5G network is newer and has far fewer users so far, as the 5G hardware is also currently much more expensive than the nodes supporting the original IoT network. In June, the Helium Foundation revealed plans to spin off the original HNT reward token and create a new token for each networkwith an eye to supporting more wireless protocols in the future.

How it works

Helium’s own 5G network will be the preferred network for Helium Mobile when coverage is available, Renski said. It’s a relatively small network at the moment, but it’s growing: Helium’s second network has taken shape since the launch of MOBILE token rewards, with over 1,700 new user nodes activated in the past 30 days – and Renski said the pace is picking up.

Initially, voice calls will take place entirely on T-Mobile’s network, while data transfers will use services provided by node operators in the decentralized network where this is available. Otherwise, it automatically falls back to T-Mobile’s network. As Helium’s network expands, more of the load will be shifted from T-Mobile’s infrastructure.

There is still work to be done in the months ahead to make the automated process of switching more seamless, Renski said Decrypt. Initially, users may experience slight delays when their smartphone switches between one network and the other, but Nova Labs and T-Mobile will continue to work together to reduce and potentially eliminate such gaps in time.

“I would say we’ve traveled maybe halfway on this journey at this point,” Renski said of improving the technical infrastructure. “But we still have some way to go to ensure that all users get a smooth user experience.”

In addition, Nova Labs works with smartphone manufacturers to design phones that are specially designed for seamless switching. Users will also be able to bring their own phone, but a press release suggests that the Helium-certified phones will be “more efficient” at validating network coverage and thus can earn more MOBILE token rewards.

The Helium Mobile news will follow launch of a proposal to move the network from its own custom blockchain to Solana, a growing blockchain platform for apps, DeFi and NFTs. The token-based vote is scheduled to end on September 22, with users overwhelming votes for the proposal when this is written.