What If You Got Paid Instead of Paying Your Phone Bill?
Summary
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*a_5l7hFZ_t8-4_9D8CXmQw.jpeg" /></figure><p>For decades, traditional telecom has burdened consumers with eye-watering prices, locked-in contracts, and spotty indoor coverage, all symptoms of a brutally expensive, centralized infrastructure model. Helium flips that model on its head.</p><p><strong>What makes Helium different</strong></p><ul><li><strong>People-powered infrastructure.</strong> Anyone can deploy a mini cell tower “Hotspot”, to extend coverage exactly where it’s needed. Think of it as Uber or Airbnb for connectivity. Network builders can earn rewards in HNT every time a device or phone routes data through their Hotspot.</li><li><strong>Proven at IoT scale.</strong> Helium built the world’s largest decentralized IoT network, peaking at 1M+ Hotspots and still operating in 170+ countries, all powered by people.</li><li><strong>Now serving humans, not just sensors.</strong> Over 100k Helium Mobile Hotspots in the U.S. already handle 30–35 TB of cellular traffic a day, with more than 1 million phones connecting daily.</li></ul><p><strong>Helium Mobile: a telco carrier re-imagined</strong></p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*o07yjby1UVlO6a4h02AvMg.png" /></figure><p>Traditional MVNOs are locked to a single host network, cost $40–70 per month with multi‑year contracts, and provide no benefits beyond service.</p><p><a href="https://heliummobile.com/">Helium Mobile</a> dynamically combines nationwide 5G with the people-powered Helium Network, offers a free phone plan with 3 GB of data plus voice/SMS and no contracts, and rewards users for sharing their anonymized location coverage data, which helps guide where new Hotspots should be deployed.</p><p><strong>Why incumbents are taking note</strong></p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*US-xEn-RGXvrIzigVFHGAQ.jpeg" /></figure><ul><li><strong>Cost advantage.</strong> Building or leasing indoor coverage has traditionally cost telcos thousands per site. A <a href="https://www.helium.com/">Mobile Hotspot</a> can light up a coffee shop or airport gate for a fraction of that.</li><li><strong>Live pilots.</strong> <a href="https://www.fierce-network.com/newswire/att-partners-helium-better-wi-fi-offload">Major carriers</a> automatically shift subscribers to Helium Hotspots whenever they’re in range, reducing OPEX (operating expenses) while improving indoor experience.</li></ul><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*1aC89sq8_FV_4D980hzmaA.png" /></figure><p><strong>Fueling the next growth wave</strong></p><p>The Helium Foundation’s new <a href="https://www.helium.com/grant"><strong>$50M Coverage Grant Program</strong></a> targets high-demand zones where aligning Hotspot growth with subscriber density can slash costs for users and boost earnings for hosts.</p><p>Telecom doesn’t have to be painful or expensive. By putting infrastructure in citizens’ hands and aligning incentives with crypto, Helium is proving there’s a smarter, cheaper, and more inclusive way to connect the world.</p><p><strong>Join Helium Network</strong></p><ul><li><strong>Deploy coverage:</strong> <a href="https://helium.world">https://helium.world</a></li><li><strong>Try Helium Mobile:</strong> <a href="https://heliummobile.com">https://heliummobile.com</a></li></ul><img alt="" height="1" src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=293e4880c56f" width="1" /><hr /><p><a href="https://blog.helium.com/what-is-helium-293e4880c56f-293e4880c56f">What If You Got Paid Instead of Paying Your Phone Bill?</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>
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*a_5l7hFZ_t8-4_9D8CXmQw.jpeg" /></figure><p>For decades, traditional telecom has burdened consumers with eye-watering prices, locked-in contracts, and spotty indoor coverage, all symptoms of a brutally expensive, centralized infrastructure model. Helium flips that model on its head.</p><p><strong>What makes Helium different</strong></p><ul><li><strong>People-powered infrastructure.</strong> Anyone can deploy a mini cell tower “Hotspot”, to extend coverage exactly where it’s needed. Think of it as Uber or Airbnb for connectivity. Network builders can earn rewards in HNT every time a device or phone routes data through their Hotspot.</li><li><strong>Proven at IoT scale.</strong> Helium built the world’s largest decentralized IoT network, peaking at 1M+ Hotspots and still operating in 170+ countries, all powered by people.</li><li><strong>Now serving humans, not just sensors.</strong> Over 100k Helium Mobile Hotspots in the U.S. already handle 30–35 TB of cellular traffic a day, with more than 1 million phones connecting daily.</li></ul><p><strong>Helium Mobile: a telco carrier re-imagined</strong></p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*o07yjby1UVlO6a4h02AvMg.png" /></figure><p>Traditional MVNOs are locked to a single host network, cost $40–70 per month with multi‑year contracts, and provide no benefits beyond service.</p><p><a href="https://heliummobile.com/">Helium Mobile</a> dynamically combines nationwide 5G with the people-powered Helium Network, offers a free phone plan with 3 GB of data plus voice/SMS and no contracts, and rewards users for sharing their anonymized location coverage data, which helps guide where new Hotspots should be deployed.</p><p><strong>Why incumbents are taking note</strong></p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*US-xEn-RGXvrIzigVFHGAQ.jpeg" /></figure><ul><li><strong>Cost advantage.</strong> Building or leasing indoor coverage has traditionally cost telcos thousands per site. A <a href="https://www.helium.com/">Mobile Hotspot</a> can light up a coffee shop or airport gate for a fraction of that.</li><li><strong>Live pilots.</strong> <a href="https://www.fierce-network.com/newswire/att-partners-helium-better-wi-fi-offload">Major carriers</a> automatically shift subscribers to Helium Hotspots whenever they’re in range, reducing OPEX (operating expenses) while improving indoor experience.</li></ul><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*1aC89sq8_FV_4D980hzmaA.png" /></figure><p><strong>Fueling the next growth wave</strong></p><p>The Helium Foundation’s new <a href="https://www.helium.com/grant"><strong>$50M Coverage Grant Program</strong></a> targets high-demand zones where aligning Hotspot growth with subscriber density can slash costs for users and boost earnings for hosts.</p><p>Telecom doesn’t have to be painful or expensive. By putting infrastructure in citizens’ hands and aligning incentives with crypto, Helium is proving there’s a smarter, cheaper, and more inclusive way to connect the world.</p><p><strong>Join Helium Network</strong></p><ul><li><strong>Deploy coverage:</strong> <a href="https://helium.world">https://helium.world</a></li><li><strong>Try Helium Mobile:</strong> <a href="https://heliummobile.com">https://heliummobile.com</a></li></ul><img alt="" height="1" src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=293e4880c56f" width="1" /><hr /><p><a href="https://blog.helium.com/what-is-helium-293e4880c56f-293e4880c56f">What If You Got Paid Instead of Paying Your Phone Bill?</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>