Helium (HNT) is getting into the cell phone business by becoming the world’s first ever “crypto-operator.” The offering, built in partnership with the giant T-Mobile, will feature plans that allow users to earn cryptocurrencies.
Helium Network launches its mobile network
Helium Network (HTN), which aims to create a true Web3 internet, has announced a major partnership to become the world’s first mobile crypto network. Indeed, the project, which answers for a few months to the name of Nova Labs, joined T-Mobile, one of the most important operators at the world level.
Dan Thygesen, vice president of T-Mobile Wholesale, expressed his enthusiasm for the agreement:
“We believe Helium Mobile is pursuing a very young and exciting market segment. T-Mobile is thrilled to support Nova Labs’ innovation in this new crypto-powered space, enabling their mobility on the nation’s largest, fastest and most reliable 5G network.”
As such, the first Helium Mobile plans will begin by rolling out across the U.S. in Q1 2023 in beta. The commercial offering will feature subscriptions starting at $5 per month, for benefits ranging from 1GB per month to unlimited everything.
But the real strength of these plans is that they will allow for crypto rewards to be earned. Beyond a simple economic incentive, this feature has a purpose: to improve the network.
Indeed, although Helium Network is already well established, Nova Labs has chosen to partner with T-Mobile to offer a perfect coverage to its users. Thus, the latter will be able to choose to share some data, which will allow to identify the areas in which the network still lacks development.
Amir Haleem, CEO of Nova Labs and founder of Helium, also welcomed the partnership:
“Nova Labs is committed to building a decentralized network. Our new agreement with T-Mobile provides our subscribers with nationwide 5G coverage and allows us to offer mobile products and services that utilize both networks.”
A “people’s network” under construction
In order to offer enthusiasts even more rewards, Nova Labs also reveals that partnerships with phone manufacturers have been formed. The objective is to create a phone optimized to participate in the improvement of the Helium network.
Regarding the United States alone, the network has nearly 4,700 5G access points in 1,182 different cities, at the time of writing. Since its launch in 2019, Helium Network has a total of more than 950,000 access points, and 1,000 devices to create this network are reportedly deployed daily.
The strength of such a network, unlike a centralized initiative, is the speed at which it can be built. One need only look at the logistics of Elon Musk’s Starlink, or any operator before it, to see this.
Here, the installation of the devices operating by radio waves is supported by the people wishing to participate in the project. In exchange for this, they receive economic incentives, thus creating a real decentralized Internet.
