In brief
- Andrew Yang’s Noble Mobile acquired Helium Mobile, the service provider built on top of the crypto-fueled Helium network.
- Deal terms were not disclosed, but Helium Mobile COO Frank Mong said subscribers should expect a smooth transition.
- Nova Labs will now focus on growing the network and onboarding additional companies to Helium.
Helium Mobile, the mobile service provider built on the decentralized, crypto-powered Helium network, has been acquired by Noble Mobile, the affordability-focused telecommunications company of former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
Helium Mobile, which at one time offered a free mobile plan (but recently axed it), said it shares a similar commitment to its customers, with the combined company set to offer low-cost service plans in an effort to disrupt the giants of the mobile industry.
“We were drawn to Noble Mobile because of a deep alignment in values, vision, and the people leading the organization,” Helium Mobile COO Frank Mong told Decrypt.
“Our subscribers deserve a home that shares our conviction that connectivity should be affordable and accessible to everyone,” he added. “Noble Mobile embodies that, and it gave us confidence that our subscribers would be in the right hands long-term.”
Subscribers to Helium Mobile’s mobile plans should expect a smooth transition, according to Mong, who said that users will be able to keep their phone numbers and maintain access to the same 5G network powered by T-Mobile. Helium Mobile’s offering is also underpinned by Helium, the Solana-based decentralized network composed of hotspots deployed worldwide, which Noble has also agreed to use as part of the deal.
The “crowd-built” cellular network is built with nearly 139,000 mobile hotspots that act as miniature cell towers, according to data from the Helium website, and has been used by providers like AT&T and Telefonica to extend or fill gaps in their coverage networks.
It’s this opportunity that is most pressing for Nova Labs, the firm that founded the Helium network and launched the Helium Mobile service.
“Our network business is the largest opportunity in front of us,” said Mong. “We’ve recently onboarded major U.S. carriers to offload traffic at scale and the Helium network now serves millions of users daily. To capture this momentum, we needed to find Helium Mobile the right steward while our team focuses on accelerating network expansion.”
The acquisition does nothing to change the Helium network’s model, which offers a Solana-based $HNT token to hotspot operators who provide coverage used by carriers and subscribers. The mobile network boasts more than 2.6 million daily users and is generating more than $47,000 per day in revenue according to Helium World’s dashboard.
$HNT is down nearly 7% over the last day at a recent price of $0.64, pushing its 30-day drop to about 28%.
