With a whirl of alt-coins in the market, it can be difficult to keep track of which projects are worth diving into. Today, I want to share why I think you should pay attention to Helium–a blockchain technology that is designed to specifically pair with devices that operate on the IoT (a fancy way of saying devices that connect to the internet).

To back up a bit, let’s start with the origin story of this alt-coin. Helium was co-founded by Amir Haleem, Shawn Fanning, and Sean Carey in 2013. These three founders all have extensive backgrounds as technology leaders across gaming, cybersecurity, and software development. The team spent almost 6 years developing the code and groundwork for the Helium network, which launched in July 2019.

Today, there are over 220,000 hotspots around the world on the Helium network, with more being added everyday. You can think of Helium as a people-powered network, where a simple device in your home or office can provide your city with miles of low-power network coverage for billions of devices and in return earn you with a new cryptocurrency, HNT.

Like I mentioned above, the first thing you can do with Helium is provide wireless coverage in your area by setting up a simple device known as a miner. I personally mine Helium with a Rak hotspot miner, which can earn HNT when devices connect or by validating wireless coverage delivered by peers. Using a system called Proof-of-Coverage, RAK Hotspot Miners earn more HNT when they’re in range of other RAK Hotspot Miners, but need to be at least 300 meters apart. Within 1 month of setup, I generated 22 coins and recouped my initial investment of $400. The HNT tokens, which have surged 1,322% in the past year to date, are earned when hot spots provide and validate wireless coverage and transfer device data over the network. As I write this article, the value of a Helium token is worth ~$19.20. I’m excited to see what the future holds for the HNT coin as awareness builds around the first successful decentralized network in its category.

Hundreds of companies and thousands of developers are already building on The People’s Network, the world’s largest network of its type. So what else can you do with Helium?

While mining is one use case, you can also use the network created by miners. Anyone can start using the network today to connect Iot devices and collect data in ways that were never possible before–and at a fraction of the cost of telcos we all know and use today. Unlike cellular, with Helium, companies never have to pay for sim cards, worry about data caps, or get charged for overage fees.

Helium vs. Telcos:

Helium represents a paradigm shift for decentralized wireless infrastructure and the use cases are infinite. Helium powered vertical solutions have emerged from logistics and supply chain to smart cities and environmental monitoring.

One interesting use case I came across involved the city of San Jose, California–which has become the first city to launch an initiative on Helium’s network. The city’s aim is to bridge the digital divide by increasing internet access to more than 1,300 low-income families. According to Helium’s blog, this initiative launched out of the Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation (MOTI) and is deploying Helium-compatible Hotspots to volunteer residents and small businesses across San José during a six-month pilot period. The Hotspots, purchased by the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), will further expand The People’s Network to support an increase of local IoT infrastructure.

The HNT rewards generated from these hotspots will be used to provide broadband internet access to low-income households. The Helium team explained that “this partnership between the Mayor’s Office, Helium, and CETF is the first of its kind and represents one of many innovative public-private partnership models that [they’re] advancing to bridge the digital divide for residents.”

Helium is connecting the world one device at a time and the use cases for building on the people’s network are endless. I’m excited to continue my support for the Helium ecosystem through mining — which provides my city with coverage and access to decentralized connectivity.

With a whirl of alt-coins in the market, it can be difficult to keep track of which projects are worth diving into. Today, I want to share why I think you should pay attention to Helium–a blockchain technology that is designed to specifically pair with devices that operate on the IoT (a fancy way of saying devices that connect to the internet).

To back up a bit, let’s start with the origin story of this alt-coin. Helium was co-founded by Amir Haleem, Shawn Fanning, and Sean Carey in 2013. These three founders all have extensive backgrounds as technology leaders across gaming, cybersecurity, and software development. The team spent almost 6 years developing the code and groundwork for the Helium network, which launched in July 2019.

Today, there are over 220,000 hotspots around the world on the Helium network, with more being added everyday. You can think of Helium as a people-powered network, where a simple device in your home or office can provide your city with miles of low-power network coverage for billions of devices and in return earn you with a new cryptocurrency, HNT.

Like I mentioned above, the first thing you can do with Helium is provide wireless coverage in your area by setting up a simple device known as a miner. I personally mine Helium with a Rak hotspot miner, which can earn HNT when devices connect or by validating wireless coverage delivered by peers. Using a system called Proof-of-Coverage, RAK Hotspot Miners earn more HNT when they’re in range of other RAK Hotspot Miners, but need to be at least 300 meters apart. Within 1 month of setup, I generated 22 coins and recouped my initial investment of $400. The HNT tokens, which have surged 1,322% in the past year to date, are earned when hot spots provide and validate wireless coverage and transfer device data over the network. As I write this article, the value of a Helium token is worth ~$19.20. I’m excited to see what the future holds for the HNT coin as awareness builds around the first successful decentralized network in its category.

Hundreds of companies and thousands of developers are already building on The People’s Network, the world’s largest network of its type. So what else can you do with Helium?

While mining is one use case, you can also use the network created by miners. Anyone can start using the network today to connect Iot devices and collect data in ways that were never possible before–and at a fraction of the cost of telcos we all know and use today. Unlike cellular, with Helium, companies never have to pay for sim cards, worry about data caps, or get charged for overage fees.

Helium vs. Telcos:

Helium represents a paradigm shift for decentralized wireless infrastructure and the use cases are infinite. Helium powered vertical solutions have emerged from logistics and supply chain to smart cities and environmental monitoring.

One interesting use case I came across involved the city of San Jose, California–which has become the first city to launch an initiative on Helium’s network. The city’s aim is to bridge the digital divide by increasing internet access to more than 1,300 low-income families. According to Helium’s blog, this initiative launched out of the Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation (MOTI) and is deploying Helium-compatible Hotspots to volunteer residents and small businesses across San José during a six-month pilot period. The Hotspots, purchased by the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), will further expand The People’s Network to support an increase of local IoT infrastructure.

The HNT rewards generated from these hotspots will be used to provide broadband internet access to low-income households. The Helium team explained that “this partnership between the Mayor’s Office, Helium, and CETF is the first of its kind and represents one of many innovative public-private partnership models that [they’re] advancing to bridge the digital divide for residents.”

Helium is connecting the world one device at a time and the use cases for building on the people’s network are endless. I’m excited to continue my support for the Helium ecosystem through mining — which provides my city with coverage and access to decentralized connectivity.