Supporting the growth of The Peoples Network
A frequently asked questions
The Linxdot hotspot is currently pending Helium community approval and testing. Subject to passing community approval, testing and certifications, we expect to open pre-orders and start shipping hotspots in Summer 2021.
We suggest joining our waitlist to be amongst the first to hear when we start accepting orders.
Please check the official web site www.linxdot.com
Shipments to the UK are shipped from our UK warehouse.
Shipments to the rest of the world will ship from Hong Kong with an express courier service via FedEx. We don’t charge sales tax for orders outside the UK, therefore this will be charged via the courier at the time of delivery based on local tariffs.
Participants earn HNT by mining and building coverage for The People’s Network using compatible Hotspots. Earnings depend strongly on location and specific setup. It can vary depending on placement (near windows, outdoors, walls, etc.)
To participate in Proof of Coverage (PoC) and Witnessing tasks, you will need to have a neighbouring miner in your area at least 300m away from your hotspot. This doesn’t mean you need to buy 2 miners. As long as there is one nearby, normally in cities, you should earn PoC and witnessing rewards, in addition to data transfer and consensus group rewards. Learn more about how earnings are distributed on Helium’s website.
Depending on location, altitude and building density, the Linxdot miner covers areas between 1 and 10 miles.
The People’s Network is powered by a new rewards-based model, made possible by the Helium Blockchain. Helium LongFi™ combines LoRaWAN with the Helium Blockchain and is optimised for miles of wireless network coverage, and long battery life for Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
The People’s Network connects devices and collects data through its secure and affordable wireless connectivity, without needing to deploy & maintain costly cellular networks and infrastructure.
- Affordable pricing – Costs are much cheaper than those associated with cellular networks.
- Mass coverage – Helium is the largest public LoRaWAN network in the world.
- Miles of Range – Devices can communicate 200x further on Helium Long-Fi than through Wi-Fi.
- Earn $HNT – By hosting a Helium Hotspot Miner, you will be rewarded with HNT helping to provide network coverage for IoT devices.
To get better scale please be aware thet this depends directlly to Hotspot position. You can check Helium.place to calculate better spot hor your new hotspot.
The People’s Network utilizes two new currency objects, Helium Tokens and Helium Network Data Credits.
Helium Tokens
Hotspots earn Helium Tokens (Helium) for providing and validating wireless coverage and for transferring device data. A fixed amount of Helium is mined each month.
Data Credits
Helium Tokens can be converted into Data Credits. Data Credits can only be used to pay for wireless bandwidth, are non-exchangable and tied to a single-user.
https:// intercom.help/heliumnetwork/en/articles/3085289-helium-token-economics
Data Credits are required to send data over the Helium Network. One Data Credit equals 24 bytes of payload. Any number that exceeds 24 bytes is rounded up, so a packet with a 25-byte payload would cost the same as one with 47 bytes, i.e., two Data Credits.
The price of Data Credits is fixed in USD. Data Credits are non-transferrable, and can only be used by their original owner. Data Credits cannot be re-sold or traded. Data Credits are similar to pre-paid cellphone minutes or airline miles.
Users can directly acquire Data Credits using Console either using a credit card or converting HNT.
To be clear the only way Data Credits are created is by converting HNT, however, Helium Inc. is making it easy for customers to purchase Data Credits with a credit card.
During the credit card purchase process Helium Inc converts the required number of HNT into Data Credits for the customer and deposits them into their Console account.
https:// intercom.help/heliumnetwork/en/articles/3085280-what-are-data-credits
Hotspots’ miners earn HNT when LoRa-enabled IoT devices connect and for validating wireless coverage delivered by peers’ LoRaWAN gateways. Using the system called ‘proof-of-coverage’, Helium Compatible LoRaWAN gateways mine more HNT when they are in the range of other Helium compatible LoRa gateways, but need to be at least 300 meters apart.
Helium Network Token (HNT) is the cryptocurrency that is mined by the Hostpots during its wireless IoT network operations. When connected to a nearby Hotspot, a ‘proof of coverage’ is delivered that validates LoRa gateway real availability, as well as its related coverage. This confirmation simultaneously triggers the generation of Helium’s native cryptocurrency, Helium Network Token (HNT), using the gateway-embedded miner, thus rewarding Helium Network participants and granting coverage for hundreds of square miles throughout the community. Helium proposes a wireless economy with two units of exchange: HNT (Helium Network Token) & Data Credits (to connect to and use the community open wireless IoT network).
The power requirement is 5 watts (roughly equivalent to an LED light bulb).
To participate in earning rewards by providing coverage a hotspot needs to prove its location to its peers. If the hotspot is mobile it cannot prove its location, there’s a very low probability it can earn rewards.
Yes, you can in the sense that area means in the same neighborhood. Several hotspots stacked in a closet will not help build the network. The thinking is higher density areas will see more usage traffic and participants who have helped build the network will benefit from an increased number of companies using an affordable wireless network for machine connectivity.
Hotspots have to be connected to the internet at all times. You can use Ethernet or Wi-Fi to connect to the internet.
No. We’ve built this network to encourage participation from as large of a community as possible. The amount of data sent by a device is very small typically within 5 kbps.
All compatible devices communicate via hotspots. There is no direct communication or meshing in our network.
The applications we’re targeting for traffic typically within 5 kbps.
Nope, The Helium Hotspot uses Long-Fi and uses your existing internet connection broadcast a radio signal, connecting low-power devices in your area….devices such as dog-collars, environmental sensors etc. that only need to transmit and share small bits of information (like a location or temperature). It does not replace internet or cellular service for regular devices like computers and smartphones.
It’s best to have at least 2 other hotspots within radio range of you, so that you can participate in PoC Challenges to earn rewards. If you are the only hotspot in your area, you can still earn tokens if a device uses your signal and by initiating the Challenges, though.
If hotspots are too close (within 300-350 meters or so) they will end up not being able to witness each other and may compete with each other for Challenges. Their overall participation in Proof-of-Coverage would be impacted. It’s better to have them spaced out, at least a few houses or blocks away, to broaden network coverage.
Once set up and connected to the internet, there are 5 ways your hotspot earns (with no additional work from you!):
• When a device sends information over the network using your hotspot
• By initiating PoC Challenges over the internet
• By participating in a PoC Challenge
• By acting as a Witness to a PoC Challenge between nearby hotspots.
• Being a part of a Consensus Group
Any nearby hotspots can act as a Witness and hear the Beacon over the radio. That means its radio signal is available, and it’s in range, proving its location. When an active challenge packet arrives, they record the SHA256 of the packet they saw, along with the time of arrival and signal strength, and report this back to the Challenger. The Challenger then includes this receipt, if valid, in the completed challenge proof.
As it’s a one-hope PoC, rather than challenging additional hotspots in the area, this concludes the Challenge.
If there are known Hotspots in the neighborhood, they just may not be able to hear you because of interference or its position is poor.
Note: Newer high-rise buildings often have a UV protective layer on the outside of the building glass that is known to block and interfere with radio signals. Move the Hotspot outside or purchase an outdoor antenna so it can bypass the glass.
There are a few ways to fix this.
Moving the Hotspot to a different window
Placing the Hotspot outdoors. Look for IP-66 Waterproof cases. You can purchase these from mouser.com, amazon.com, or most hardware stores.
No it won’t. This network is built for a new class of devices that only require transferring small amounts of data over long ranges, for example, location data, environmental data (air quality, humidity, noise, temperature etc).
The Linxdot miner runs on legal for broadcasting frequencies. The device is pending global certifications of conformity and it only uses pre-certified components.
The frequencies emitted and received by the Linxdot miner are lower in power than those used by smartphones, and are completely safe for use indoors.
