Block 28: New Network Users, 172K Hotspots, 5G Shipping, & Console Coverage!
August flew by, and September is picking up pace as The People’s Network dives right into fall 🍂. From new companies driving usage to FreedomFi’s 5G Gateways shipping in 14 days, the launch of Coverage on Console 2.0 (with a brand new Console 2.0 Tips and Tricks series to help users 🤓), new Helium App features (hello support for iPad 👋), sweet Community Content, developer contributions on the Helium GitHub, and nearly 50,000 new Hotspots coming online in the past month, the ecosystem is flourishing now more than ever before.
In Block 28, let’s go into more depth on this recent news and what it means for the future of The People’s Network.
The Future of Logistics is Hoopo-Powered 🚚
As the newest user of The People’s Network, Hoopo is an international tracking and logistics solution, empowering aviation, transportation, and waste management customers to make the best possible business decisions.
Hoopo customers include ICL, a multi-national chemical logistics company, and KGS, an international logistics company based in Japan, who are able to use the Network for continuous asset visibility with a multi-technology sensor that boasts years of battery life. Explore the full announcement and sign up for the episode of The Uplink.
AIRICA Reduces Transmission of Indoor Pathogens 🦠
AIRICA is a Helium-compatible indoor air quality company, delivering up to 1,000 sensors per week to provide office buildings, public transports, schools, and restaurants everything they need to monitor air quality. By monitoring air quality businesses can, in turn, reduce the transmission of pathogens, enhance employee health, save costs, and comply with green building standards. Read the announcement and register for the upcoming episode of The Uplink below.
FreedomFi Shipping 5G Gateways This Month
They don’t Tweet often, but when FreedomFi does, it’s big. Read the announcement from FreedomFi and article from Light Reading on their updated shipping timeline starting on September 28th and a new Helium 5G roadmap.
As the second major wireless network to launch, Helium 5G unlocks a world of possibilities with high-bandwidth devices, such as phones, now supported. This is a massive milestone for The People’s Network and shipping day can’t come soon enough!
“FreedomFi and its manufacturing partners are in the midst of building 20,000 small cells that will form the basis of what company CEO Boris Renski expects will be ‘the largest, CBRS-based neutral-host networks in the US.’” — Mike Dano, Light Reading
Hotspot Makers List Expands
One of the latest updates to the Helium ecosystem is a number of new Hotspot Makers approved by the Manufacturing Oversight Committee (MOC), now totaling 17 Makers. Check out the full list in the Hotspots section of Helium Explorer.
DeWi Joins The LoRa Alliance
The Decentralized Wireless Foundation (DeWi) recently joined the LoRa Alliance, helping to ensure consistent standards and practices that benefit all organizations across the Helium ecosystem. How the Helium Network integrates with LoRaWAN will be critical to both end-users and other LoRaWAN network operators as it continues to grow. Read the announcement.
Coverage on Console 📍
Last week, Coverage was announced as the latest addition to Console 2.0! Based on company goals, it is important to be able to provide and visualize Network coverage alongside IoT usage. As part of this process, companies need to have a way to fully optimize Hotspot placements and ensure that devices are always connected. The new Coverage feature allows users to monitor Hotspots transferring sensor data and ensure they have connectivity that best suits their business needs. Watch the Coverage overview on YouTube.
Usage on the Rise 📡
IoT usage has been ramping up quickly on The People’s Network. If you’re mining $HNT or waiting on a Hotspot—but haven’t quite started using the Network—no need to fret; it’s easy to get started.
The Console Tips and Tricks series has everything you’re looking for as you onboard your first devices on the Network. If you have additional questions, the Console section on Helium Docs goes into even further detail about using the platform to add new devices to the Network, connect Integrations, and see data begin to stream.
Helium App 3.5.0 is Here📱
The App team announced that the newest version of the Helium App is here, with some brand new features and community contributions. Hide Hotspots, Support for iPad, Validators, and Payment Notifications are some of the latest additions. Read the full update on the Engineering Blog, and try out the new App from the App Store or Google Play.
WIRED Features Invoxia LongFi Trackers
The Invoxia LongFi Tracker may be the user-friendly IoT solution you’re looking for. Use Hotspot coverage (and phone location services as a backup) to track your valuables. Read the full review from Christopher Null at WIRED.
Hotspotty 2.0 — Helium Hacks Happy Hour
Perhaps the biggest Community Tool update over the course of the past month is Hotspotty 2.0! With the platform, analyze data, manage Hotspots and payouts, collaborate with team members, and optimize $HNT rewards and coverage, all in one place. Watch the presentation from the Hotspotty team on Helium Hacks.
Jack Harding‘s Time With The People’s Network
A dedicated community member in the Helium ecosystem, Jack Harding shares a heartfelt story on Twitter about educating himself on LongFi, introducing The People’s Network to close friends and family members, and sharing the love for eco-friendly crypto mining with Hotspots 👏.
Google Sheet Automatic Reward Updates
Useful to any Hotspot owner wanting to track $HNT mining or rewards for hosts, this YouTube video by TheBigChoppa shows a simple way to auto-populate rewards data into a Google Sheet for your Hotspots.
The Road to a Burn-and-Mint Equilibrium 🔥
More Network usage means a progression towards a “Burn-and-Mint equilibrium” with Data Credits derived from $HNT burned out of circulation. The economic model of a Burn-and-Mint equilibrium for The People’s Network is intended to allow for the supply of $HNT to respond to Network usage trends such that, when equilibrium is found, the amount of $HNT that exists remains static month to month and a max supply of $HNT is reached before all $HNT are minted.
The People’s Network means so much to the everyone involved with building and using coverage around the world. Not only are we the fastest-growing wireless Network in the world, but together we represent hope for a truly decentralized future where individuals own and operate their infrastructure.
Have a question or want to get involved? Join in on discussions in the Helium Discord or reach out directly at timothy@helium.com.
