Frank Mong says the wireless industry has stopped innovating. Helium wants to bring cheaper and even free connectivity by combining blockchain and network sharing.
For decades, the telecom industry has barely changed. Frank Mong, chief operating officer at Helium, says that slow pace has left a four trillion dollar global market open for disruption.
“I grew up before the internet,” Mong said in an interview with TheStreet Roundtable’s Jackson Hinkle. “It took decades to go from the web to cell phones to smartphones, and we are still not where we should be.” He points to regulation as the main reason progress stalled. “Whenever you have governments and laws involved, things move slowly. The system is stable but it never changes.”
A new model for connectivity
Helium is trying to change that. The company has launched a mobile service that offers free plans supported by its crypto token HNT. “We have a phone service called Helium Mobile,” Mong explained. “It is literally free, no credit card, and it gives you three gigs of data. It is enough for someone who uses their phone for maps, calls, and messages.”
The model works by blending Helium’s decentralized network with existing carriers such as T-Mobile. “When you are outside, you use our partner network,” he said. “When you are indoors, your phone connects automatically to a Helium hotspot. You do not even have to think about it.”
That approach, Mong argues, cuts real costs. “Most people spend seventy percent of their time indoors,” he said. “If we can handle that part of the connection locally, the plan should be much cheaper.”
Helium’s vision is simple. Create an open network that uses crypto incentives to expand coverage, lower prices, and bring reliable service to more people. “Internet should just work all the time,” Mong said. “That is what we are building.”
