Helium announced a collaboration that brings the Helium Network to AT&T subscribers across America. Through this collaboration, AT&T subscribers can connect to Helium’s community-built Wi-Fi network, expanding coverage and enhancing mobile service. As a part of their broader wireless convergence strategy, AT&T becomes an early adopter to utilize a set of real-time coverage quality metrics pioneered by Helium.

The Helium Network is a wireless network built by individuals and businesses who deploy “mini cell towers,” known as Hotspots, and earn rewards for helping to build the network and providing coverage to nearby devices. This decentralized, people-powered model is a robust, cost-efficient alternative to traditional wireless infrastructure. With over 62,000 Hotspots deployed and a rapidly growing presence in the U.S. and Mexico, Helium continues to expand affordable and accessible connectivity.

This strategic integration with the Helium Network marks a pivotal advancement in wireless convergence technology and enables Wi-Fi authentication via Passpoint, incorporating a decentralized infrastructure alongside traditional networks and leveraging Helium’s coverage and quality metrics to make subscriber experience data visible, transparent, and actionable.

This forward-thinking approach sets the industry standard for the wireless convergence experience and overcomes conventional connectivity challenges in locations where traditional networks face significant economic and physical hurdles. The result is a more robust, seamless experience for mobile users wherever they are located.

Helium has already demonstrated the effectiveness of its decentralized model, with more than 800,000 daily users benefitting from its network. AT&T joins major carriers such as Telefónica’s Movistar and other Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) that are leveraging the Helium Network to enhance coverage and reduce operational costs.

This news follows major milestones for Helium, including Helium Mobile’s launch of the Zero Plan, the first free phone plan in the U.S., and a partnership with Telefónica’s Movistar, which is expanding the Helium Network to over two million users in Mexico. This announcement further underscores the growing role of decentralized wireless networks in the future of mobile communications.