You may be wondering how this is possible. I certainly am! I have read your explanation several times and have not understood it at all. I reproduce it here, in case it makes sense to you:
The beauty of Helium Mobile is that it combines the power of the people-created Helium Mobile Network with our partner’s largest 5G network in the country. We call this Dynamic Coverage.
By leveraging a network owned and operated by individuals rather than large corporations, Helium Mobile is able to significantly reduce costs to deliver nationwide service at unprecedented prices.
I wonder, for starters, who is that couple in the first sentence is The blog post does not specify. fierce wireless does: It’s T-Mobile. The basic idea here is that when wireless users are close to Helium’s access points, they can use it to connect; the rest of the time, these people can use T-Mobile’s 5G network.
Let’s take this one step at a time. As unlimited is it unlimited? Good, according to the Helium site:
*The double simulation approach means that we can offer data grouped into two groups: data using the Macro network and CBRS data provided by people. Each deposit includes 30 GB data usage in a monthly bill cycle. After the 30 GB allotment, data speeds may be reduced (for that segment) for the remainder of the billing cycle to ensure an optimal network experience for other subscribers.
So you get 30 GB on T-Mobile and 30 GB on Helium Network. After that, he strangles you. That might not be a problem if you spend a lot of time on your home Wi-Fi or near public hotspots.
Oh, and in case you were curious: crypto is not accepted as payment.
So let’s talk about the Helium network since that’s, I guess, the secret sauce here. How does it work? Well, some people have purchased CBRS-equipped access points, which have a greater range than the average Wi-Fi unit. The cheapest that appears in the “Helium Ecosystem” Page for Helium Mobile it is $999.
The more people connect to the Internet through that hotspot, the more Helium tokens the hotspot owner earns. The main helium token, called HNT, is worth around $1.90 as of this writing. Just for fun, I hit up the Helium Network subreddit to see what the community was saying. In a post titled “Is it worth it?” three days ago, a user asked if it was worth buying a Helium miner. The consensus seemed to be “no.”
Anyway, apart from the tokens, there is a problem with this setting: technically speaking, it could violate your uhhh terms of service from your Internet provider. Here it is Comcast Xfinity Terms of Servicefor example, by saying that you may not use the connection to “use or run programs that provide network content or any other services, except for personal, non-commercial use.”
Now, just out of curiosity, I signed up for T-Mobile to see how much his monthly mobile coverage costs! Your “essential” plan is $60 / month for a phone. Like most writers, I’m not very good at math, but I think $5 a month is a lot less than $60 a month.
Let’s say that many people sign up for this plan because it is very cheap. I suspect that if Helium’s network in Miami is using standard ISPs, they might… figure it out. And? i mean i would love discover. Will people using Helium hotspots get banned from their ISPs? If that happens, then basically people are paying $5 a month for T-Mobile service, a great deal for customers, but maybe not so much for Helium.
As is Helium doing? Well, the images around the ads are usually very revealing. Let’s take a look!
Those are just very normal fingers on the woman on the right, who is holding what is surely a very normal normal phone. Here’s another normal image:
Look, I think it’s admirable to save costs where you can, especially if you’re offering a $5/mo mobile service. Pass those savings on to your consumers, etc.
Anyway, I can’t wait to see how this Miami experiment pans out! If previous experience with Helium Network holds up, it promises to be a fun time for meat least.
