We founded Helium back in 2013 with a mission to make the world a more connected place through a ubiquitous, global wireless network. We decided to focus our initial efforts on an open source wireless protocol, LoRaWAN, purpose-built for IoT devices and sensors. By adding the open source Helium blockchain, we unlocked the barrier of traditional centralized network build-outs by spreading the cost across a decentralized ownership model.
The cryptocurrency, HNT, started the flywheel of a people-powered network to roll out globally. Today the Helium Network is live with 28,000+ Hotspots in over 3,800 cities worldwide. There are also another 200,000+ Hotspots on backorder, from a flourishing ecosystem of Hotspot manufacturers, that will soon be deployed. The best part, the accelerated growth is almost all community-driven around the world. It’s been quite the journey, but today marks the next chapter in what is sure to be an important milestone in the Helium Network: the path to 5G.
