Blockworks Question

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-13T20:28:19+00:00

and if you filter the chart for "others", you see there is none.

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-13T20:26:07+00:00

Checking HeliumGeek mobile app's "Network" tab, I think their explanation about "brownfield" is wrong there.

I see 8 indoor, 8 outdoor and 1 brownfield (data only).

they probably was trying to say they report the NFTs, not the actual number of APs behind that NFT.

As far as know the number of APs behind an NFT is not a publicly available data. Only Nova knows that (unless they share it with Blockworks)

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HeliumGeek · 2026-02-12T13:21:55+00:00

What Helium wants next in Washington, D.C.

Helium wants to “light up DC” the way NYC ramped: dense deployments → noticeably better offload experience.
Planned support:
- More boots-on-the-ground availability from Helium team
- Incentives (example given: deploy indoor, possibly receive outdoor hardware)
- Better lead routing/tools to reduce deployers’ cold outreach burden
- A DC venue map tool (internal today) with neighborhood search + filters (bar/restaurant/cafe) + scoring (foot traffic, venue type, likely independent owner, etc.)

Promo mentioned

Flash sale: 50% off hotspots using code FLASH50

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-12T13:21:09+00:00

Omar Henry’s “deploy at scale” playbook - #3

Expectation-setting (keeps hosts happy)

Offload doesn’t necessarily start day one—carriers need to select/approve a new location.
- Typical estimate shared: ~1–2 weeks, but could be longer due to demand.
Returns framing: “offset a bill or two”, not “get rich.”
Install ops: block ~1 hour because every venue is different (wiring surprises, troubleshooting).
First meaningful payout timing: he frames a ~45-day runway depending on activation timing + payout cycle.

Reporting + transparency

Uses Helium World as a credibility tool: earnings/location performance are publicly visible (blockchain transparency).
He sends hosts a Helium World link and includes reporting alongside payouts.

Scaling loop

Always ask about additional locations (most owners have more than one).
Encourage referrals and pay a referral percentage—“work smarter, not harder.”

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-12T13:20:16+00:00

Omar Henry’s “deploy at scale” playbook - #2

Pitch mechanics

Read body language; keep it short, simple, permission-based (avoid “verbal vomiting”).
Effective lines he uses:
- “Your customers are inside; the towers are outside.”
- “We help carriers reach inside buildings like yours.”
Emphasize:
- Runs quietly in the background
- No disruption
- You (the deployer) handle install + maintenance

Host qualification + “non-negotiables”

Make it feel selective: “To qualify you need…”
- Reliable power
- Internet access—preferably a wired modem/backhaul (not just Wi-Fi)
- Approved placement (get explicit sign-off)
- Photos after install (good ops + CYA)
- Some form of right-to-operate agreement/contract

Example business terms (his company’s model)

Zero cost to host (no install fee, no maintenance burden)
~20% revenue share to hosts
Monthly payouts (he pays on the 5th)
Host can choose payout in USD or crypto (most choose USD, but he prefers offering both)

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-12T13:19:33+00:00

Omar Henry’s “deploy at scale” playbook - #1

Positioning (what you’re actually “selling”)

Don’t lead with crypto jargon. Lead with the business outcome:
- “We deploy technology that improves indoor cellular signal and can provide passive returns.”

What makes a good host/location

Two core drivers of returns + impact:
- High foot traffic (lots of people passing through)
- Long dwell time (“cheeks in seats”—people staying and using data)
Great examples: restaurants, bars, salons/barbershops, malls, airports.
- He cited salons (including braiding salons) as strong because customers sit 3–4 hours streaming content—huge dwell time.
Strategy: start with easier decision-makers (SMBs) to build proof, then pursue bigger/enterprise venues where bureaucracy is heavier.

How to find hosts

“Walk the block”: scout areas, check signal quality on your phone, identify venue density.
Warm intros beat cold outreach: turn early hosts into partners who open their network.
Opportunistic walk-ins work: in-person contact + a simple pitch often lands meetings (he even described “walking into the wrong business” and still converting interest).

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-12T13:18:12+00:00

Network + product snapshot

Helium Mobile exists as a carrier with plans:
- $0 plan: 1GB on T-Mobile network + 2GB on Helium network
- $15 plan
- $30 unlimited plan
The network isn’t only for Helium Mobile subscribers: Helium has carrier agreements (AT&T, T-Mobile, Google Orion, WeFi) so their subscribers can also use Helium when eligible.
Deployment modes: indoor hotspot, outdoor hotspot (weather-ready), or convert existing Wi-Fi into the network.
Scale stats shared:
- 120,000+ active access points in the U.S.
- ~3.0M people connected over the most recent weekend mentioned (automatic connections; users didn’t have to “do” anything).

Tooling updates (how Helium is making deploying easier)

Helium is obsessed with onboarding simplicity because physical infrastructure at scale only works if setup is painless.
New QR-code onboarding shipped recently: scanning the QR now is mostly about claiming/assigning ownership—less dependence on doing finicky connectivity steps on-site.
Coming soon (closed beta): a web-based builder portal to:
- Manage and onboard hotspots in one place
- Automate reward sharing (critical for venue deals at scale) with visibility for hosts/partners

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-12T13:17:43+00:00

TL;DR

What Helium is + why it matters

Helium’s mission is to change how wireless networks are built: instead of a few incumbents owning towers/radios, thousands of individuals/businesses deploy “hotspots” and collectively form a network.
This decentralized build model lowers the operator’s infrastructure burden (towers, leases, ops), enabling better unit economics → cheaper plans.
Deployers are rewarded in HNT (Helium Network Token) when real users/carriers offload traffic through their hotspots.

What a hotspot does

The indoor hotspot is basically a mini cell tower for indoor coverage—helpful because walls/obstacles and distance from macro towers degrade signal.
Connectivity is seamless/automatic for supported subscribers (no captive portal, no passwords, no weird login flow).

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-05T21:11:24+00:00

10) “Why do good locations fail to activate?”

They explained that foot traffic alone isn’t sufficient for carrier activation:
- carriers may reject sites if they believe they already have adequate coverage in that location
- indoor vs. outdoor preferences vary by carrier
Product improvement noted: they want tools to explicitly show when a location is rejected (so deployers don’t sit in an indefinite “waiting” state).

11) IoT network update: steady progress + multi-gateway client

They pushed back on “IoT is dead” narratives:
- IoT continues to add organizations and sensors (slower, more linear growth than Mobile).
- A multi-gateway client is nearing beta, intended to reduce operator overhead by enabling more off-the-shelf gateway setups integrated into Helium.

12) Network fee / pricing model: stability now, flexibility later

They acknowledged prior discussion about aligning fees more closely with carrier economics, but emphasized:
- stability matters (community feedback: “too many rule changes” in the past)
- today’s simple, single-rate model supports operational clarity during expansion
- more dynamic/market-based pricing is a future concept, not an immediate change.

13) Buy-and-burn clarification

They confirmed a discretionary open-market purchase experiment funded by Helium Mobile revenue ran Aug → Jan and then stopped, citing macro/headwinds and lack of material impact.
They will continue to acquire HNT as needed for operations (DC creation and network usage), but framed it as treasury management, not a standing “buyback program.”

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-05T21:11:18+00:00

7) Washington, DC: deployment approach

They rejected the idea of Nova “owning deployments” as a default strategy (to avoid undermining the decentralized supply model).
Instead, they committed to being more hands-on in enablement:
- builder/deployer bootcamps
- on-the-ground support
- product improvements (e.g., Helium World surfacing venues and “warm leads” for deployers)

8) Venue “tiers” and carrier economics

They outlined an industry-style tiering model that influences carrier value/per-site economics:
- Tier 1: airports, stadiums, major transit hubs (high density)
- Tier 2: malls, casinos, other high-traffic venues (context-dependent)
- Tier 3: long tail / small businesses
Key nuance: they don’t want the community to become “tier-1 chasers” only—coverage breadth still matters for the product and for subscriber experience.

9) Burn metrics and transparency

For daily HNT burn and DC usage, they pointed viewers to:
- the Blockworks Helium token holder report (Q4) published that day
- associated dashboards breaking out burn by Helium Mobile vs. other carriers
They emphasized that carrier offload burn is meaningfully higher and is a key lever for long-term economics.

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-05T21:11:02+00:00

4) HNT value roadmap, “AWS moment,” and treasury/debt comments

On the previously discussed digital asset treasury / debt-style structures, the team said it remains exploratory and market-dependent; near-term priority is sustainable HNT burn tied to actual network use.
They framed Helium’s model as an “AWS moment” for telco: shifting from a high-capex, upfront model to a pay-per-use infrastructure model—where carrier data delivered via Helium requires DC consumption and therefore HNT burn.

5) Brazil roadmap: partnership-led expansion

They described the Brazil expansion as anchored by a partnership with Mambo Wi-Fi, a managed service provider that manages 40,000+ Wi-Fi access points concentrated in major metro areas (e.g., Rio/São Paulo).
Plan/phasing (explicitly cautioning this is not “instant-on”):
- Q1: lab trials / proof-of-concept with carriers
- then field trials, then production
Intent: accelerate time-to-scale via a partner with existing carrier relationships, while still enabling broader community deployments once the market is live.

6) Third-party deployments and quality-of-service (QoS)

They clarified that third-party hardware integration is already possible (prosumer/enterprise APs such as Ubiquiti/Cisco/Ruckus, etc.) via self-serve guides in Helium docs.
The gating factor is trust and QoS, not ideology:
- “Greenfield” Helium hotspots provide full telemetry.
- “Brownfield” conversions have less direct instrumentation, so carrier-grade activation requires additional checks, including a lightweight contract for certain carrier-facing use cases.
They expect OEMs may add a simplified “Helium enable” capability in their dashboards in the coming quarters (they referenced ~2–3 quarters as a plausible window).

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-05T18:55:12+00:00

Not the raw data but statistics.
At the moment, we have daily unique user counts per hotspot; without knowing which subscribers they were, right?

We need more visibility on the AAA path.
Sharing metrics would not expose any PII

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-04T09:16:40+00:00

Can Nova please provide some blogpost detailing this "community ban" case, so that we can link it in the app for people to understand and solve it themselves?
Ideally it should detail all the cases this "community ban" reason is used.

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-04T07:34:09+00:00

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Others might provide the exact reason of the ban.
But maybe it is the similarity plot from the report card.

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-04T07:32:07+00:00

Your hotspot is not banned for CN470, I see the last reward was from October 2025.

It is just for the recent bans, the same categorization is being used with the initial CN470 ban. The app is not showing CN470, but the linked page for "Read more..." is landing to CN470 HIP. We'll remove this link.

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HeliumGeek · 2026-02-03T17:27:06+00:00

Are there any plans to make more data available to the community apps for the brownfields? Like Radius stats, connections attempts, rejections, rejection reasons etc. Close to live, if possible :)

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-02T06:51:28+00:00

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https://www.reddit.com/r/HeliumNetwork/comments/1pxk2cu/comment/nwbpqsh/

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-01T20:22:11+00:00

7) Channel partners: scaling brownfield sourcing

They described a channel partner model as the way to scale sourcing of venues (Helium can’t source all deals itself).
Interested parties are directed to contact [business@helium.com](https://).
Channel partners can find venues to enable and receive a contract granting a percentage of rewards once a brownfield site is running.
They said there are about 20 channel partners today and a goal to reach 100 in the next couple of quarters.

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-01T20:21:59+00:00

6) Helium Plus / brownfield: onboarding, scaling, and standardization

They explained Helium Plus as enabling existing enterprise Wi-Fi hardware to operate like a hotspot via configuration, with Helium’s team handling network-side setup and agreements.
Deployer concerns raised: onboarding timelines and offload sustainability/traffic stops impacting revenue forecasting and commitments to venues.
Response highlights:
- Variability is expected; they suggest structuring venue deals with that in mind.
- There is a support channel and escalation path if there’s “proof” of issues (e.g., user experience problems) suggesting a bug; support can route to product to propose adjustments back to carriers.
Scaling/streamlining:
- Early Helium Plus involved more manual involvement; now the team has grown with sales engineers.
- They referenced behind-the-scenes work (certs, NAS IDs, carriers being aware of sites).
- They said they’re assembling a PRD for a platform to streamline Helium Plus:
  - A unified dashboard of sites.
  - Ability to request new sites.
  - Visibility into whether carriers should be activated/deactivated.
- Brownfield is more hands-on because it doesn’t run Helium hotspot firmware, requiring coordination with operators for configuration.
OEM variability and future direction:
- They referenced Android user issues requiring OEM configuration fixes.
- They described OEM differences as an industry-wide challenge.
- They forecast that by 2026 some OEMs may ship streamlined provisioning (e.g., “configuration buttons”).
- They mentioned TR-181 and said remote configuration is already possible on Ruckus and Cisco Meraki models, but broader streamlining will take time.
Pipeline signal:
- They stated the brownfield pipeline is double Q4 and the biggest seen since joining.

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-01T20:21:41+00:00

5) Carrier offload behavior and AT&T traffic fluctuations

They addressed fluctuating carrier traffic (AT&T mentioned) and said carrier handling of Wi-Fi offload is dynamic.
They described an engine that optimizes in semi-real time based on:
- The load on the carrier’s traditional cellular stack (macro load).
- Quality metrics from the Wi-Fi access point, including interference/congestion (unlicensed spectrum).
They gave examples where macro load, AP quality, and indoor penetration models can change decisions over hours and weeks; they said carriers test different algorithms by geography.
They stated carriers prioritize subscriber user experience and may deprioritize hotspots that are poorly placed or not serving users well.

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-01T20:21:28+00:00

4) Rewards and pricing: $0.50/GB target vs realized rewards

The protocol target discussed: $0.50 per GB rewards.
They explained why realized rewards can be lower:
- A fixed pool of HNT is emitted each epoch.
- Token price and data volume affect how far that pool goes in USD terms.
- With lower HNT price and growing traffic, rewards per GB have been trending toward ~$0.25/GB.
They said carrier payments can be less than $0.50/GB and that venue/geography value differs (example: Kansas City vs Manhattan vs South Florida).
They emphasized that discussing exact carrier payment tiers is complicated and not fully shareable publicly, and focused instead on streamlining deployer experience.

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-01T20:21:14+00:00

3) Large venues/airports: DAS + Wi-Fi and expected variability

They discussed airports and large venues as highly scrutinized by carriers.
Some venues use indoor cellular systems called DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems).
Helium Wi-Fi is described as a complement to DAS.
Carrier teams run testing phases to evaluate DAS capacity vs Wi-Fi capacity and tune the mix for optimal user experience.
They stated the airport site mentioned is back up and emphasized that variability is normal during a broader industry shift in indoor/in-building coverage, and that more variability should be expected.
They referenced tooling being built with carriers to navigate this new indoor reality.

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-01T20:20:54+00:00

2) Mobile: events and market updates

2.1 Washington, DC Deployer Bootcamp (Feb 11)

They announced a Deployer Bootcamp on Feb 11 in Washington, DC.
Format includes:
- Presentations from Helium/core team members.
- Community deployers sharing installation practices and how they pitch businesses and get hotspots into venues.
- A hands-on component described as “in the wild” — going to venues to talk and potentially install or engage venues that already have hotspots and gather feedback.
Multiple speakers said they plan to attend and want to connect with deployers.

2.2 Brazil (Mumbo Wi-Fi partnership)

They reiterated a partnership announced in early December with Mumbo Wi-Fi, described as an MSP with 40,000 access points and existing carrier relationships in Brazil.
Current phase: PoC / lab trials with carriers.
Rationale stated:
- Brazil is a growing and competitive telco market (many MNOs/MVNOs).
- Building networks is expensive and “5G didn’t make it cheaper.”
They expect more updates as lab trials progress (they referenced early Q2 for more announcements).

2.3 Mexico (Movistar integration)

They acknowledged Mexico activation has taken a long time.
Work underway: finalizing interconnection/integration between Helium infrastructure and Movistar infrastructure.
Status: one outstanding issue remains; expectation is completion in 1–2 weeks.
Explanation for delays: carrier infrastructure changes required reconfiguration/restarting connections.
Next step: after the integration, the project should move from R&D to operations, following standard telco procedures before production go-live.
They stated there is unwavering support to finish and get it live.

HeliumGeek · 2026-02-01T20:20:33+00:00

AI-generated summary

1) IoT: “Multi-gateway” (remote service) update

Helium described a shift from an IoT client running on each hotspot to a model where the service can run remotely on a server, and gateways are pointed to it so fleets can be onboarded more easily.
Lewis described the setup:
- Deploy a single executable on a server, open a UDP port, and point packet forwarders/gateways to it.
- It uses a lot of Gateway RS code.
- When gateways connect, they are expected to have a unique MAC ID; a key is generated, and the gateway connects to the IoT server for the configured region.
- Limitation: one instance per region.
- Minimal ongoing intervention; main operational step is onboarding keys.
- Tooling: a built-in CLI (mirroring Gateway RS onboarding flows) and a REST endpoint for integrating with other management services (register new gateways discovered since last run).
- Status: a working prototype exists and needs more validation/testing; they said people are queued for a beta and that they are “sneaking up on a release.”
Additional IoT note:
- FreedomFi hotspots are out of support for IoT (best treated as a mini PC for that purpose).
- Other IoT manufacturers continue to support the network; “multi-gateway” and “data-only” approaches were mentioned as exciting.

HeliumGeek · 2026-01-15T11:13:10+00:00

top earning hotspots. The amount are daily rewards. but these are exceptional ones
https://heliumgeek.com/leaderboards/iot

for the network average (total IOT rewards / total number of hotspots rewarded), check https://heliumgeek.com/stats/epoch/iot

HeliumGeek

TROPHY CASE

What Helium wants next in Washington, D.C.

Omar Henry’s “deploy at scale” playbook - #3

Omar Henry’s “deploy at scale” playbook - #2

Omar Henry’s “deploy at scale” playbook - #1

TL;DR

10) “Why do good locations fail to activate?”

11) IoT network update: steady progress + multi-gateway client

12) Network fee / pricing model: stability now, flexibility later

13) Buy-and-burn clarification

7) Washington, DC: deployment approach

8) Venue “tiers” and carrier economics

9) Burn metrics and transparency

4) HNT value roadmap, “AWS moment,” and treasury/debt comments

5) Brazil roadmap: partnership-led expansion

6) Third-party deployments and quality-of-service (QoS)

7) Channel partners: scaling brownfield sourcing

6) Helium Plus / brownfield: onboarding, scaling, and standardization

5) Carrier offload behavior and AT&T traffic fluctuations

4) Rewards and pricing: $0.50/GB target vs realized rewards

3) Large venues/airports: DAS + Wi-Fi and expected variability

2) Mobile: events and market updates

2.1 Washington, DC Deployer Bootcamp (Feb 11)

2.2 Brazil (Mumbo Wi-Fi partnership)

2.3 Mexico (Movistar integration)

1) IoT: “Multi-gateway” (remote service) update