Helium and AT&T bring WiFi to thousands of US locations

Helium has partnered with AT&T to enhance connectivity by rolling out WiFi across various locations nationwide. 

This collaboration aims to streamline user access to Helium’s decentralized WiFi infrastructure.

On April 24, Helium announced that AT&T subscribers can now use WiFi provided by its community-driven network.

According to Helium Mobile data, the network features 93,500+ hotspots, with a large concentration in the United States.

The Helium Network functions through a community-driven system of users who set up small hotspot-enabled cell towers.

Participants receive crypto-based incentives for playing a role in building out the network and ensuring coverage.

The collaboration with AT&T will fast-track Helium’s integration into the market and create meaningful value for all involved, said Amir Haleem, co-founder and CEO of Helium Mobile.

He hinted that this is just the opening move, and more announcements are on the way.

The integration with AT&T enables users to authenticate WiFi access through the Passpoint service, which facilitates automatic connections to networks in the roaming system.

The system merges decentralized nodes with a conventional service network to create a more robust structure.

Helium serves over 800,000 daily users through its decentralized network, already providing connectivity to a large number of people.

Helium has signed deals with Telefónica’s Movistar in Mexico and collaborates with various other mobile network operators to boost their coverage using the network.

In February, Helium Mobile unveiled a free plan, marking what the company calls the first no-cost phone plan available in the US, leading up to this deal.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Helium’s developer, Nova Labs, in January.

Days before Gary Gensler stepped down as SEC chair, the commission filed a lawsuit against Nova Labs for allegedly selling unregistered investment products.

Nova Labs paid a $200,000 civil penalty and saw the SEC dismiss the lawsuit in a settlement reached earlier this month.

At the time, a representative of the company made this statement.

“[T]he outcome establishes that selling hardware and distributing tokens for network growth does not automatically make them securities in the eyes of the SEC [and] that the SEC cannot bring these charges against Helium again.”

Previously running on its own blockchain network, the Helium Foundation, in December 2022  migrated to Solana, launching Hotspots NFTs on the network.