AT&T subscribers will now 'automatically connect' to nearby Helium hotspots through new commercial agreement (2025)

DePIN project Helium is collaborating with AT&T to bring its community-built Wi-Fi network to the telecom giant’s subscribers, according to an announcement on Thursday.

Helium is a decentralized network that encourages users to deploy "mini cell towers," called Hotspots, by offering token incentives to provide wireless coverage to nearby connected devices. The project is pitched as a “cost-efficient alternative to traditional wireless infrastructure” and claims to have over 93,000 hotspots in North America, according to Helium Hotspot data.

Mario Di Dio, general manager of network at Helium, told The Block that AT&T subscribers will “automatically connect” to the Helium network when they come into proximity of a hotspot through the company’s latest integration. The company says “thousands” of hotspots are already live.

Di Dio noted that this is a “commercial agreement” between AT&T and Helium development company NOVA Labs. AT&T will not pay Helium Hotspot operators directly, he said. Hotspot operators will instead continue to earn Helium’s native HNT token through its “usage-based reward system.”

Helium was — and may still be — viewed as one of the most promising real-world applications of blockchain. However, the project has drawn criticism by some hotspot operators who were disappointed by their network payouts considering their investment in specialized hardware. The project’s reputation was also dinged after The Verge reported Helium had overstated its relationship with Lime and Salesforce.

“Hotspot operators are rewarded for providing useful coverage and offloading data, further emphasizing the Helium Network's decentralized, community-driven nature,” Di Dio said. “We believe the collaboration between AT&T and Helium highlights the real-world utility of crypto. The Helium Network has proven that crypto can be a powerful incentive in building out and deploying wireless infrastructure.”

Helium has formed similar relationships with Telefónica’s Movistar and other “mobile network operators” and “mobile virtual network operators,” according to a press release. In 2023, Helium Mobile, a service built on the Solana-based peer-to-peer Helium network, launched a nationwide plan in the U.S. providing users with unlimited data, text and talk.

Helium was founded in 2013 to support internet of things devices. It raised $111 million in a 2021 token sale led by Andreessen Horowitz and raised an additional $200 million in a Series D round led by Tiger Global and the now-bankrupt FTX Ventures.

The network’s token, HNT, currently trades at $3.62 at time of writing, according to The Block’s price page. At its peak in 2021, the token exchanged hands for more than $50, in part due to the hype around crypto at the time and former association with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. The project initially used a proprietary blockchain but migrated onto Solana, a blockchain heavily supported by SBF, in 2022.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its case against Nova Labs after determining the project’s three tokens — the Helium Network Token (HNT), Helium Mobile Token (MOBILE) and and the Helium IoT Network Token (IoT) — were not unregistered securities.

The lawsuit was filed in January 2025, in one of the last enforcement actions the agency levied against a crypto project during former SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s tenure. Nova agreed to pay $200,000, without admitting or denying claims involving private placement.