Helium is a blockchain-based company building a decentralized wireless communication network across the globe. While most telecommunication systems utilize aging infrastructure and a centralized governing body, the Helium Network is built and maintained by the masses. They’re laying the groundwork for the decentralization of our future internet and they’re paying all of us to be a part of their revolutionary systems of device-to-device communication.
The internet as we know it is outdated. It basically functions by individual devices sending requests to centralized cell towers and servers that then fetch the relevant data and send it back. When you loaded this article, for example, your browser sent a request to a centralized server in your area, which then sent a request to the server that houses this post. That first server then retrieved the data on this page and delivered it to your device. Of course, that’s a tremendous oversimplification of the process, but it demonstrates the basic functionality of our current telecom reality.
The issue with the current system is that it relies on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) as the middlemen between our devices and the data that we want to access. During the early days of the internet and up until now, ISPs were able to dominate this space because most of them had already owned the physical infrastructure required to send large amounts of data across long distances. Once they owned the infrastructure, there was seemingly no way to compete.
It all started with dial-up. The Verizon’s and AT&T’s of the world simply started using their telephone lines to send data from device to device. That slowly evolved into DSL, and eventually, Cable, Satellite, and Fiber internet options followed. All of the above require massive amounts of physical infrastructure and utilize highly centralized organizations that have ultimate control over the bits of information that comprise our modern internet.
As stated on Helium’s homepage, “The People’s Network represents a paradigm shift for decentralized wireless infrastructure.” The biggest aspect of that shift is the transition of power away from the massive conglomerates that dominate our internet systems and into the hands of the individual user. Instead of massive domain name servers and cell towers handling the transfer of data, the Helium Network relies on P2P communication that’s secured by their blockchain technology.
Basically, Helium is putting consumer-owned servers (hotspots) in the houses of hundreds of thousands (soon to be millions) of individual properties. Each of these hotspots can speak to each other using radio waves that are encrypted and documented on their blockchain. When all of these “servers” are combined, a mesh network is formed, and a decentralized internet is born.
Here’s the thing… In its current iteration, the Helium Network can’t actually be utilized by the average individual in the same way that the internet can. At this stage, Helium is a LoRaWAN (low-powered wide area network) that’s primarily meant to facilitate IoT communication across long ranges. That means it’s perfect for efficiently and securely monitoring and registering low-power long-range sensors and other IoT devices on a blockchain. So why would you want to put a Helium hotspot in your building?
That’s where Helium’s ingenious incentivization system comes into play. In order to establish their massive, decentralized, blockchain-based communication network, they need a significant amount of active hotspots spread out across a wide area. And each of these hotspots needs to be able to communicate to the next, stay online, and be constantly powered. That kind of infrastructural undertaking would be nearly impossible to achieve in a centralized fashion.
Fortunately, Helium understands the power of cryptocurrency and crypto-incentivization. In exchange for installing one of their hotspots in your building, Helium will essentially pay you in HNT whenever the device is utilized. This works in a number of ways, but the basic gist is that your hotspot is rewarded HNT whenever it completes Proof-of-Coverage tasks or transfers data from one Helium Network device to the next. Put more plainly, you earn crypto when your hotspot proves it’s online and when it facilitates communication.
So what does it cost you? Well, the electricity used by the average Helium hotspot is roughly $5 a year in the US. And the WiFi bandwidth it uses is less than the average Amazon Echo or other passive IoT device laying around your house. It’s also entirely encrypted and doesn’t have any access to the data on your home devices. Basically, Helium hotspots piggyback on an incredibly insignificant amount of your WiFi bandwidth and electricity with no interactions between you or your devices. It’s truly a passive-income earning machine.
Right now, the Helium Network is built on LongFi (or LoRaWAN + Blockchain) technology. You can think of their first infrastructural undertaking as a testing ground for the future of modern telecom that’s still in the works. Within the next few months, however, Helium (and their partner FreedomFi) plan to start shipping 5G-enabled miners across the US. By the end of 2021, the second Helium network built on 5G will be on the rise and available for a wide range of uses.
The value of HNT is sure to grow as Helium continues to be at the forefront of decentralized communications. Backed by innovative VC firms like Andreessen Horowitz, they managed to secure $111M in funding as of August 2021. With over 160,000 active hotspots and counting, Helium has the infrastructure and financial backing to see their plans for a future internet to the end and beyond.
So where does JAG fit into all of this? Well, Helium relies on third-party hotspot vendors to facilitate the implementation of their rapidly expanding mesh network. At JAG, we currently work with several certified Helium Hotspot manufactures to deliver hotspots to eager customers without all of the associated hurdles and costs. We make it painless and free to join the Helium Network revolution.
When you register with JAG, we deliver, configure, and install a Helium Hotspot in your building, completely free of charge. You don’t pay any fees for the hotspot device or the costs of installation. In exchange, JAG takes a commission of the HNT that your device(s) earn over the course of each month. There are also no long-term contracts or deactivation fees if you ever want to return your device. In essence, we make joining the Helium Network an entirely risk-free way of passively earning HNT while you go about your day-to-day life.
There are ways to procure, configure, install, and maintain Helium Hotspots entirely on your own. However, if you choose to go down that path, you’ll likely be met with incredibly long wait-lists for the devices, expensive costs regarding procurement and installation, and a tremendous lack of support for how to optimize your hotspot to earn the most rewards. The much smarter and quicker alternative is to let JAG do all of the heavy lifting for you, free of charge. And if you’re ever unsatisfied with our setup, you can always return your hotspot to us without any hassle.
Shop below to get your FREE Helium Hotspot today!
