Helium Mobile

News
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Helium Mobile is supposed to eventually be a new breed of DeWi (decentralized wireless) mobile service provider slated to rely primarily on Helium’s DeWi network supplemented with a traditional MVNO agreement.

Theoretically, anyone can deploy Helium network compatible hotspot equipment though the upfront equipment cost is not cheap. Those who deploy hotspots are paid in crypto currency.

Helium Mobile is in beta. As of now, the beta is strictly traditional MVNO service on T-Mobile’s network. The beta offer is unlimited talk, text and cell data for $25.month guaranteed for “life”.

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The calculators seem to predict a hotspot revenue of ~$12/year in my area at current Helium crypto value. That would just about cover the electricity costs for keeping the hotspot plugged in. Their own description of the service is a mishmash of buzzwords. I’ll pass, but I see that they do have Dish onboard as a partner.

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Progress?

I’m within 35 miles of Miami but that’s not close enough.

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If it sounds too good to be true…

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I’m in Kansas City city limits, and nothing for me yet.

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It’s currently Miami only.

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That’s probably a good reason why it’s not available. But I’m on their mailing list now, so maybe one of these days it’ll come here.

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I wonder what happened to their $25 beta and the users that were on it?

Edit: I found the answer on Reddit. Current beta members are having their rates lowered to $5/month.

I have to hand it to them. Announcing this $5 beta did boost the value of Helium Network Tokens. For how long? Who knows?

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Helium Mobile is probably another in a long line of unsustainable business models in wireless. But; for $5/month, while I wouldn’t make it my primary service, I might take a flyer on it.

This is quite possibly all it’s about for them.

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Who knows how long it’ll last but this combined with my $6 tello plan for my primary number is a good deal.

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I have 2 invites available for Helium if anyone is interested.

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Is what I read that dual SIMs (one for T-Mobile talk & text and one for Helium data) accurate?

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That’s my understanding. I have the data only eSim on my pixel 6a. Optional voice and text is a separate sim.

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So, talk & text is optional with Helium. That’s interesting. If one of your remaining invites is still available, I’m game. If so, a DM might be best.

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I just finished signing up for Helium Mobile courtesy of an invite from @davenc.

I’ll report more when I’ve had a chance to use it a bit. Meanwhile; game on Boost Infinite, can you match $5/month for 30 GB of cell data? :wink:

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Here’s some additional detail on Helium Mobile.

Helium currently uses a bit of a kludge that requires a dual SIM via eSIM capable phone. Cell data is on eSIM. Talk & text on Helium require an optional physical SIM. Dual SIM via eSIM capable phones allow for multiple SIMs (physical and/or eSIM) to be simultaneously active. So, I’m simultaneously using the Helium eSIM for data with a resident Mobi physical SIM providing talk & text on a Google Pixel 6a.

Pricing is $5/month whether one uses the optional physical SIM for talk & text or not. Helium’s betting on DeWi (decentralized wireless) to reduce dependence on cell data much as Republic once used proprietary technology to offload to WiFi.

Helium’s bet on its DeWi “people’s” network notwithstanding, I don’t necessarily see Helium’s current pricing as being sustainable but I’ll take $5/month for up to 30 GB of high speed cell data for as long as it lasts. The reality is I don’t generally need anywhere near 30 GB of cell data per month. But; I do live in hurricane prone Florida and $5/month is cheap insurance.

Once again; a tip of my virtual hat to @davenc for kindly providing the invite! :smiley:

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Do you know if Helium allows you to use the sim in a laptop? 30GB of data for 5$ a month is really tempting for my work laptop not going to lie.

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Helium’s data SIM is an eSIM. Optional talk & text requires a separate physical SIM.

To attempt directly answering your question here is Helium’s list of supported devices:

Screenshot 2023-08-29 at 10.31.28 AM

Hotspot is supported, so you could tether your laptop. I haven’t yet read through all the Ts & Cs but it looks like hotspot is limited to 5 GB.

For me, Helium is part experiment and part backup should my wireline Internet go down. Generally, wireline Internet is solid here but it is :cyclone: season.

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My two interactions with Helium support has been positive. Customer support is via chat and both times I was able to reach an agent quickly after a brief quiz by the chatbot. The first inquiry was a general question about referrals. The second time I needed them to assist with the transfer of the data eSim to a new phone. There’s not a self service option to move the eSim but support had me setup on my new phone in a few minutes.

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Helium Mobile’s revolutionary new offload idea is a WiFi hotspot?

Full disclosure, I am experimenting with Helium Mobile’s $5/month mobile service. The price point requires significant data offload to be sustainable but I thought the idea was to use CBRS not WiFi.

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