How LongFi & Helium Are Expanding Network Coverage in Mexico
Summary
<p>Following successful deployments across the U.S. and Latin America, LongFi Solutions is bringing Helium’s people-powered Network to communities across Mexico.</p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*_5ZsUtmWQUatdztwImr2Ow.png" /></figure><p>When <a href="https://www.telefonica.com/en/communication-room/press-room/telefonica-mexico-bringing-helium-network-2-million-subscribers-mexico/">Telefónica</a> set out to bring mobile coverage to underserved parts of Mexico, they didn’t go back to cell towers. Instead, the Latin American carrier opted for a decentralized model, working with Helium to build a more agile and more robust network. And when Helium was tasked with a project so wide-reaching with the potential to affect 2 million subscribers in Mexico, the team reached out to longtime deployers at <a href="https://www.longfisolutions.com/">LongFi Solutions</a>.</p><p>LongFi’s successful work history in Texas and Latin America as a decentralized network builder made them a natural fit for this project. Today, their deployers are bringing mobile coverage via Helium Hotspots in those areas Telefonica identified as needing expanded coverage, such as the historic center of Oaxaca. (For a more detailed view of future Hotspot deployments in Oaxaca, check out the <a href="https://world.helium.com/en/network/mobile/region/29879">expansion zone</a> in <a href="https://world.helium.com/en/network/mobile">world.helium.com</a>). The historically sensitive environment posed a unique deployment challenge: its tightly packed neighborhoods, colonial-era buildings, and protected cultural sites make traditional infrastructure rollouts not only impractical but potentially compromising or damaging to the local culture (no one wants to see a giant cell tower in the historic Zocalo Plaza, for example).</p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshlongfi/">LongFi CEO Josh Heller</a> said the project would require much more upfront planning than just installing hardware. Building trust and training local talent would be critical, so LongFi invested time and resources into building and training a local deployment team of technicians and location scouts.</p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*3gv-fqJ7NelmOBAafudcaw.png" /></figure><p>“In southern Mexico, there’s a natural skepticism of outsiders, especially when it comes to tech,” said Heller. “Even having a Colombian team member didn’t make us local. That’s why we focused on hiring people from Oaxaca itself. It was the only way this was going to work.”</p><p>LongFi also partnered with small local ISPs, many of whom had already laid fiber in select areas but didn’t have the resources to expand. By deploying Helium Hotspots on top of these existing connections, LongFi helped extend service and create new revenue streams for these businesses. “In some ways,” said Heller, “we’re helping them build out the network they would’ve built anyway, if they had the capital.”</p><p>From finding rooftops with line-of-sight, to adapting to power and internet constraints, to navigating local permitting in a sensitive historic zone, LongFi made sure every step of the rollout was customized, careful, and community-first.</p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*777jfz6fZ2hFv1agJEyYvg.png" /></figure><p>LongFi began as a side project while Heller was working at Exxon. As a hobbyist network builder, decentralized network connectivity had an appeal for being “a model that was lighter, more flexible, and better suited for the kinds of places that usually get overlooked.”</p><p>By 2021, Heller had pivoted to LongFi full time. What makes it work, he says, isn’t just the tech. It’s the alignment of incentives. “You don’t have to care about the bigger picture to participate, but when you contribute, you benefit from the whole network getting stronger. There’s this virtuous cycle: the more we all put in, the more everyone gets out.”</p><p>To accelerate the project and ensure its success, <a href="https://www.helium.foundation/">Helium Foundation</a> allocated funds from its <a href="https://www.helium.com/grant">$50M coverage grant</a>. The foundation announced in May it would commit grant funds to “support deployers and accelerate the buildout of Helium coverage and promote accessability…[and] drive down the cost of deployment to bring affordable connectivity to as many people as possible.”</p><p>To be a featured Helium Hotspot deployer, please contact <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</p><img alt="" height="1" src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=b701fb1220f5" width="1" /><hr /><p><a href="https://blog.helium.com/longfi-b701fb1220f5">How LongFi & Helium Are Expanding Network Coverage in Mexico</a> was originally published in <a href="https://blog.helium.com">The Helium Blog</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.</p>
<p>Following successful deployments across the U.S. and Latin America, LongFi Solutions is bringing Helium’s people-powered Network to communities across Mexico.</p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*_5ZsUtmWQUatdztwImr2Ow.png" /></figure><p>When <a href="https://www.telefonica.com/en/communication-room/press-room/telefonica-mexico-bringing-helium-network-2-million-subscribers-mexico/">Telefónica</a> set out to bring mobile coverage to underserved parts of Mexico, they didn’t go back to cell towers. Instead, the Latin American carrier opted for a decentralized model, working with Helium to build a more agile and more robust network. And when Helium was tasked with a project so wide-reaching with the potential to affect 2 million subscribers in Mexico, the team reached out to longtime deployers at <a href="https://www.longfisolutions.com/">LongFi Solutions</a>.</p><p>LongFi’s successful work history in Texas and Latin America as a decentralized network builder made them a natural fit for this project. Today, their deployers are bringing mobile coverage via Helium Hotspots in those areas Telefonica identified as needing expanded coverage, such as the historic center of Oaxaca. (For a more detailed view of future Hotspot deployments in Oaxaca, check out the <a href="https://world.helium.com/en/network/mobile/region/29879">expansion zone</a> in <a href="https://world.helium.com/en/network/mobile">world.helium.com</a>). The historically sensitive environment posed a unique deployment challenge: its tightly packed neighborhoods, colonial-era buildings, and protected cultural sites make traditional infrastructure rollouts not only impractical but potentially compromising or damaging to the local culture (no one wants to see a giant cell tower in the historic Zocalo Plaza, for example).</p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshlongfi/">LongFi CEO Josh Heller</a> said the project would require much more upfront planning than just installing hardware. Building trust and training local talent would be critical, so LongFi invested time and resources into building and training a local deployment team of technicians and location scouts.</p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*3gv-fqJ7NelmOBAafudcaw.png" /></figure><p>“In southern Mexico, there’s a natural skepticism of outsiders, especially when it comes to tech,” said Heller. “Even having a Colombian team member didn’t make us local. That’s why we focused on hiring people from Oaxaca itself. It was the only way this was going to work.”</p><p>LongFi also partnered with small local ISPs, many of whom had already laid fiber in select areas but didn’t have the resources to expand. By deploying Helium Hotspots on top of these existing connections, LongFi helped extend service and create new revenue streams for these businesses. “In some ways,” said Heller, “we’re helping them build out the network they would’ve built anyway, if they had the capital.”</p><p>From finding rooftops with line-of-sight, to adapting to power and internet constraints, to navigating local permitting in a sensitive historic zone, LongFi made sure every step of the rollout was customized, careful, and community-first.</p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*777jfz6fZ2hFv1agJEyYvg.png" /></figure><p>LongFi began as a side project while Heller was working at Exxon. As a hobbyist network builder, decentralized network connectivity had an appeal for being “a model that was lighter, more flexible, and better suited for the kinds of places that usually get overlooked.”</p><p>By 2021, Heller had pivoted to LongFi full time. What makes it work, he says, isn’t just the tech. It’s the alignment of incentives. “You don’t have to care about the bigger picture to participate, but when you contribute, you benefit from the whole network getting stronger. There’s this virtuous cycle: the more we all put in, the more everyone gets out.”</p><p>To accelerate the project and ensure its success, <a href="https://www.helium.foundation/">Helium Foundation</a> allocated funds from its <a href="https://www.helium.com/grant">$50M coverage grant</a>. The foundation announced in May it would commit grant funds to “support deployers and accelerate the buildout of Helium coverage and promote accessability…[and] drive down the cost of deployment to bring affordable connectivity to as many people as possible.”</p><p>To be a featured Helium Hotspot deployer, please contact <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</p><img alt="" height="1" src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=b701fb1220f5" width="1" /><hr /><p><a href="https://blog.helium.com/longfi-b701fb1220f5">How LongFi & Helium Are Expanding Network Coverage in Mexico</a> was originally published in <a href="https://blog.helium.com">The Helium Blog</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.</p>