- HeliumOS is now open to carriers, MVNOs, ISPs and brands to help them scale connectivity
- Helium CEO Mario Di Dio says it provides the common, interoperable platform to put it all together
- The platform bundles subscriber management, billing, provisioning and customer support
Helium, the decentralized wireless initiative that uses “people power” to provide Wi-Fi connectivity, is now making HeliumOS available to practically anyone in the business of connectivity.
That includes wireless network operators, MVNOs, ISPs and even consumer brands that offer in-app experiences for their customers, according to Helium CEO Mario Di Dio.
“The common thread is that they need better infrastructure and operating tools to launch, manage and scale connectivity,” he told Fierce.
Helium is already seeing success with Affinity Ventures, which owns Noble Mobile, a T-Mobile MVNO, and as of earlier this year, Helium Mobile. Affinity is using Helium’s Carrier Enablement solution for subscriber management, Helium’s Wi-Fi Toolkit to manage the offload experience onto the Helium Network and intelligent analytics to understand what customers are experiencing, he said.
Noble Mobile is the MVNO founded by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
“We got into this business because people were tired of their phones owning them. We wanted to give people back control over their time, attention, and money,” Yang said in a statement. “HeliumOS’s Carrier Enablement solution gives us the subscriber management we need without building that infrastructure ourselves … That’s what this is really about: less time managing infrastructure, more time giving our customers the quality connectivity they deserve.”
Helium Network has deals with the likes of AT&T, which uses Helium for Wi-Fi offload. Helium is also expanding into Mexico and Brazil, but most of its usage comes from the U.S., driven by its collaboration with AT&T.
Helium CEO: Prime time for scaling
Di Dio says this is prime time for scaling Helium’s network platform as carriers expand across cellular networks, Wi-Fi and satellite. All that’s missing is a single platform to control everything, which is where Helium Network comes in.
“Against this landscape, what we’re seeing is the traditional model of one company building, owning and delivering connectivity shift toward something more efficient: distributed, usage-based and able to reach places coverage previously couldn’t, without the capex bill that comes with it,” Di Dio said. “Carrier offload onto the Helium Network is already proof that the model works: distributed Wi-Fi coverage built by people and enterprises, not just a few operators, closest to where most data demand actually lives.”
There’s also a place for SpaceX’s direct-to-device (D2D) satellites.
“Imagine SpaceX’s direct-to-device satellites extending coverage to places like rural areas, shipping and trucking routes and oceans while the Helium Network covers indoor locations as needed,” he noted.
Tiago Rodrigues, president and CEO of the Wireless Broadband Alliance, welcomed Helium’s effort to give greater visibility and control to operators as they converge Wi-Fi directly into their networks.
“Helium is playing a leading role in our industry work to advance carrier-grade Wi-Fi as a strategic extension of mobile networks,” Rodrigues said in a statement. “By enabling operators to use Wi-Fi to augment coverage and capacity where it is needed most, Helium is helping accelerate the role of Wi-Fi as a true carrier-grade asset.”
Helium’s interoperable solutions
Acknowledging that no two providers are alike, Helium said its OS can be customized to meet each customer's specific needs, with a suite of intelligent and interoperable solutions, including:
- Carrier Enablement Platform: A BSS/OSS platform with subscriber management, billing, SIM activation, provisioning, customer support and carrier integrations in one place
- Intelligent Analytics: Agentic, no-code access to network data through HeliumAI, plus query coverage, quality of service (QoS) and deployment data
- WOX (Wi-Fi Offload Experience): Real-time intelligent session control that decides whether a connection should happen, not just whether it's allowed, improving user experience and efficiency across converged wireless networks
- Wi-Fi Toolkit: Wi-Fi offload built into mobile apps, keeping customers automatically and seamlessly connected across stores, venues, campuses and other locations – no password needed, while reducing infrastructure cost
“We believe the future of wireless is convergence: cellular, Wi-Fi, satellite and every other form of connectivity working together, intelligently. That's how users get routed to the best available connection, and how connectivity providers win,” Di Dio said. “The only thing standing between where the industry is and where it needs to be is the platform to run it all. That's HeliumOS.”
Read more about Helium:
Helium CEO: SpaceX validates our mobile playbook
Andrew Yang’s Noble Mobile acquires Helium Mobile
Helium makes it easier to use its decentralized Wi-Fi network