Helium 2025: Year in Review

Connectivity, Rebuilt.

Friday, December 19, 2025

Helium rebuilds connectivity as a global wireless network owned by people and powered by HNT. In 2025, this idea became impossible to ignore because the Network did more. More usage. More coverage. More utility. This year proved that people-powered infrastructure can outperform legacy models and enable anyone to participate in the trillion dollar telco industry.

Beyond Legacy Telco

Connectivity demand from AI, streaming, and smart devices is exploding. Legacy telco is built on slow, expensive infrastructure that cannot scale fast enough. The answer is coverage that expands where people gather and need it most without waiting years for buildouts. Helium replaces massive cell towers with Hotspots hosted by everyday people, creating a decentralized network that grows with its users.

Own It

Participation is the point. When people deploy and use Helium, coverage grows faster than centralized infrastructure. In 2025, that ownership expanded across the U.S. and Mexico, with Brazil lighting up next, as businesses and individuals turned connectivity into a ubiquitous network.

2025 By The Numbers

The People’s Network delivered real utility at scale.

• 15.72 Petabytes (PB) Data Transferred: That’s enough to stream over 3 million HD movies.

• 2M+ Daily Active Users: We started 2025 with 250K daily users and ended the year connecting over 2 million people every single day. Nearly 10x growth.

• 600K+ Helium Mobile Sign Ups: And over $75 million in savings when customers switch to Helium Mobile.

• 120K+ Active Hotspots: Providing mobile connectivity across the U.S. and Mexico.

• Major Partnerships: Mambo WiFi, AT&T, Movistar, and more.

Check out Helium coverage in your area and find a Hotspot. The Helium Network is likely already on your block.

Notable Highlights

Awards & Recognition

2025 brought well-deserved recognition for Helium and its community:

• Fierce Network Innovation Award: Helium Mobile won the 2025 Fierce Network Innovation Award for Mobile Evolution.

• WCA Social Contribution Award: Helium received the Social Contribution Award from the Wireless Communications Alliance for our disruptive model of flipping the traditional telecom model by empowering individuals to become network builders.

• WBA Best Wi-Fi Innovation Award: Helium won the Best Wi-Fi Innovation Award at the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) Awards 2025.

• WiFi NOW Affordable Connectivity Award: Helium won the 2025 WiFi NOW Award for Affordable Connectivity for Helium Plus!

• a16z crypto Recognition: a16z crypto spotlighted Helium as the leading DePIN example in telecom: “Helium, for example, is one of the defining DePIN companies and the first at-scale decentralized telecom network.” — a16z crypto

Community Deployments

From airports to wine country, the community expanded the Network:

• Madison Airport : Helium expansion at Dane County Regional Airport (MSN)

• Sausalito & Wine Country : Bringing connectivity to Northern California

• Pine Mountain Club : Coverage in California’s mountain communities

• Universidad del Sagrado Corazón : Expanding the Network in Puerto Rico

• LongFi Deployments : Expanding Helium in Mexico

Product Updates

Helium Plus: A major milestone, Helium Plus enables even more people to join the Network with existing Wi-Fi. No new hardware needed. This opens the door to massive expansion by lowering the barrier to entry. Learn more

Helium World Upgrades: The home for Hotspot deployers got a major upgrade:

• Wallet Views: Track an entire Hotspot fleet or zoom into your own. See locations, stats, and balances, the first step toward a full logged-in experience where you can send HNT tokens, onboard Hotspots, and manage it all in one place.

• Reimagined Landings: The landing page and sidebar have been reworked to highlight the most important stats. Navigation is smoother across desktop and mobile.

• Refreshed Navigation: Subnetwork navigation and map layers (like data traffic) are now easier to access.

Demand Sampling Data : Demand sampling data is now live on Helium World. New Hotspots added to the Network will automatically start serving traffic for major US carriers (for free) so they can learn which locations reach a lot of users and should be switched to paid.

Global Presence

The Helium team showed up around the world for events in 2025: Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Hong Kong, New York City, Vancouver, Mexico City, San Francisco, and more.

Looking Ahead: Expansion in 2026

2025 was the proof. 2026 is the expansion.

Here’s what’s coming:

• New US Cities: Helium is taking over in new markets across the United States. Stay tuned.

• Simpler Hotspot Onboarding: Getting a Hotspot up and running gets even easier in 2026.

• New Management Dashboards: Powerful on-chain tools for deployers, minus the crypto friction.

• Easier Hotspot Sharing: New ways to share coverage and rewards.

• Builder Bootcamps: Hands-on programs to onboard the next wave of deployers and grow the Network faster.

• Global Expansion Partnerships: New partnerships to bring Helium to more countries and carriers worldwide. Sign up for the Global Waitlist to bring Helium to your country.

• Helium Mobile Product Updates: New features to bring affordable connectivity to even more people.

• New All-Time Highs: With real utility driving demand, the Network is positioned for growth.

HNT fuels this engine, flipping the legacy model so people own the future. This is an invitation. Deploy a Hotspot. Earn HNT. The future of connectivity is not owned by the few. It’s built by the many.

LFG! 🎈