Helium, the decentralized wireless infrastructure network, has announced a strategic collaboration with AT&T that will allow the telecom giant’s subscribers to connect automatically to Helium’s community-powered hotspots, the company revealed Thursday.
The partnership represents a major milestone for Helium’s DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) model, which rewards individuals with HNT tokens for deploying “mini cell towers”—known as Hotspots—that provide local Wi-Fi coverage.
“This is a commercial agreement between AT&T and Nova Labs, the developer of the Helium network,” said Mario Di Dio, Helium’s general manager of network, in a statement to The Block.
AT&T Subscribers to Auto-Connect
As part of the integration, AT&T mobile customers will automatically connect to Helium hotspots when in range, improving coverage and network efficiency without relying solely on traditional infrastructure.
Helium claims to have more than 93,000 hotspots deployed in North America, with “thousands” already live and ready to support AT&T traffic.
Importantly, AT&T will not pay hotspot operators directly. Instead, operators will continue to earn HNT tokens through Helium’s existing usage-based reward system, which incentivizes the expansion and activity of the network.
Kosta Gushterov
Reporter at Coindoo
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Source: https://coindoo.com/helium-partners-with-att-to-expand-decentralized-wi-fi-coverage/