For $5 a month, Crypto now has your mobile plan covered

Decentralized wireless provider Helium has entered into an agreement to combine its burgeoning 5G network with T-Mobile’s mobile coverage.

The partnership is set to create what the companies have called Helium Mobile, a subscription service starting at just $5 per month that runs Helium’s decentralized network alongside T-Mobile’s more established 5G network.

The idea is to reward customers with Solana-native MOBILE tokens in exchange for sharing their data about Helium’s coverage quality. The initiative will be launched in the first quarter of 2023.

Helium rebranded as a crypto company in 2019 to great fanfare, raising a $111 million venture round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

The cryptocurrency startup works by relying on users to deploy crypto-mining devices as nodes – which act as wireless hotspots – in exchange for rewards denominated in Helium’s native HNT token. The company hopes to gain a place in the top-heavy telecommunications industry by partnering with established companies such as T-Mobile.

Decentralizing internet coverage has proven difficult for Helium. After seeing its price rise in 2021 following a partnership with DISH Network, Helium’s HNT token has fallen steadily all year, hovering around $4 after falling from its November high of $52.71.

As HNT cratered, it became difficult to profitably mine the token, raising eyebrows when it came to Helium’s bottom line. Helium also faced backlash after Mashable’s July reports that the wireless provider listed Lime and Salesforce as partners on its website despite having at best tenuous ties with both tech companies.

The network’s sudden vote to migrate away from its own layer-1 to the Solana blockchain did little to ease investor concerns.

The remedy, in Helium’s eyes? Monetize mobile data, which the telecom giants have in savings but have yet to attempt to monetize via blockchain technology.

Helium initially used its hotspots for small packets of Internet of Things (IoT) coverage – but has been working on a 5G network since 2021, focusing on “small cell” hotspots that fill gaps in widespread coverage like T-Mobile’s.

“99% of data comes from streaming protocols such as mobile networks, 5G LTE and Wi-Fi. And very, very, very little actually comes from IoT, says Boris Renski, CEO of Helium Mobile, to Blockworks.

Added Renski: “[Helium’s token] the value is linked to the volume of data on the network, so by embracing Helium 5G which is a protocol that has an order of magnitude higher data volume on the network [than IoT]we expect this to be positive for the entire Helium ecosystem.”

Amir Haleem’s teaser for the T-Mobile partnership, HNT sent up more than 10%. And that’s a result for mobile providers too: Helium says the network isn’t designed to compete with their entrenched coverage areas and pricing models.

“We’re not saying, ‘Hey, we’re launching Helium Mobile.’ Goodbye, Verizon. Goodbye, AT&T,” Renski said. “This hybrid network where you have a macro network and a grassroots network working together can provide superior economics and a great experience for end users.”

The biggest challenge in starting a telecom company – and a crypto-focused one at that – is building a wide network while revenues are still thin. Helium’s network currently has fewer than 5,000 5G hotspots. T-Mobile has said it needs close to 50,000 small cell transmitters to complete its 5G infrastructure.

A spokesperson for T-Mobile declined to comment.

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