Unlimited Helium Mobile cell plan goes nationwide for $20 a month

Nova Labs will hope to grow Helium’s hotspot network to reduce backup coverage costs paid to T-Mobile

article-image

Helium and ganjalex/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Since its 2019 launch, the Helium Network has used tokens to reward individuals deploying nodes via its growing decentralized wireless network. On Tuesday, the network’s developer announced that users throughout the US can now tap into unlimited data, talk and text for $20 per month through cell service provided by Helium Mobile in tandem with T-Mobile. 

Nova Labs, the company behind the Helium Network, has been building to the nationwide phone plan launch since partnering with T-Mobile in Sep. 2022. But the milestone comes with the question of how Nova Labs can generate revenue from the notoriously unprofitable Helium Network

The Helium Network is designed for individuals to run hotspot nodes from their homes or businesses in exchange for rewards paid out in Solana-based MOBILE tokens. Currently, Nova Labs offers a hybrid cell service where users connect via its decentralized network, and T-Mobile takes over anytime Helium hotspots can’t provide coverage. 

Read more: For $5 a month, crypto now has your cell plan covered

T-Mobile charges for the backup coverage, so Nova Labs has a strong incentive to grow its hotspot network. The company has its work cut out for itself however: Helium coverage is strongest in major cities, and even then, the node network is currently spotty. 

Helium Mobile coverage in New York City (Source: Helium Mobile Coverage Planner)

Nova Labs isn’t aiming to blanket the US in cellular coverage though, according to Boris Renski, general manager of wireless at Nova Labs. 

“All we need is to cover 3% or even less of the geographic area where data is used the most and this will result in more than 50% of the T-Mobile traffic actually shifting to the Helium network,” Renski said. 

Blockworks previously reported that Nova Labs applied similar logic to its cellular network deployment in Miami. There, plans are currently $5 per month, and the company loses money on every new subscriber. The Helium Network pays out boosted rewards to coverage providers in high-traffic areas in Florida.

Though more expensive than in Miami, the nationwide price of $20 per month still makes the Helium Mobile phone plan much less expensive than what legacy cell carriers charge. Unlimited plans from T-Mobile, Nova Labs’ partner, start at $60 per month. 

Renski said the discounted price is sustainable because the Helium Network’s bottom-up approach mitigates much of the overhead involved with building a cellular network. Helium hotspot owners offer their own real estate and coverage, so Nova Labs doesn’t have to buy land and pay radio installation companies to put up cell towers, Renski said.

Nova Labs will also begin selling outdoor mobile hotspots, priced at $499 apiece. The company released $249 indoor hotspots in October.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

An overview of the Base Ecosystem, with a focus on market leaders.

article-image

About 270 million HYPE has been claimed, valued around $7.6 billion

article-image

Stanford professors David Mazières and Dan Boneh will lead the lab alongside a cohort of graduate student researchers

article-image

With more companies holding BTC, bitcoin yielding strategies could become “a new corporate finance norm,” CoinShares posed

article-image

The proposal comes after Polygon governance considered a controversial use of bridged liquidity for yield

article-image

Can the community balance its decentralized ethos with the need for inclusivity and constructive debate?

article-image

DAWN is positioning itself as a decentralized protocol for gigabit-level internet access