09/27/2021
Telecom Liechtenstein is the first telecommunications provider worldwide to launch a helium network with nationwide network coverage for the Internet of Things.
15.09.2021
Helium is an IoT network that is being set up around the world. Anyone can participate by buying and operating standardized gateways and thus become part of the Helium network. The network forms the basis for data transfer from IoT applications. The technological basis is the LORA technology, which transmits data on the basis of the free frequencies in the 868 MHz range with a low bandwidth and, at the same time, extremely large-area coverage. The low power consumption and the cheap components of the technology enable new use cases that can be operated maintenance-free for many years.
The unique combination of LORA with the Helium Blockchain created an incentive mechanism that smartly solves the "chicken and egg problem" of infrastructure provision: both through operation and use, so-called "Helium Network Tokens" ("HNT" ) is generated on the basis of blockchain and thus every operator of Helium Access Points is immediately remunerated for the provision. The fact that it is a global network also eliminates all the complexities of interconnecting different countries, analogous to roaming in mobile communications.
Various low-power wide-area (“LPWA”) technologies are in use around the world. In addition to the NB-IoT technology based on 4G, which is popular with telecommunications companies, LORA plays one of the main roles. “Ultimately, what convinced us from getting started was the possibility of designing extremely innovative applications on the basis of LORA. With this step we would like to enable the use of these applications in Liechtenstein as well. The use of our existing network infrastructure makes this roll-out very cost-efficient and easy. We are already talking to customers about the first interesting use cases and it will be interesting to see which ones will follow. " CEO Aldo Frick is pleased about the launch of the new technology.
Telecom Liechtenstein has been active in the IoT sector for over 10 years. Global roaming services and managed connectivity platforms form the core of the portfolio. In the meantime, over 2 million objects worldwide are networked with the help of SIM cards from Telecom Liechtenstein. The implementation of the LORA technology based on the helium blockchain is the next piece of the puzzle in the context of innovative activities in the field of IoT / M2M.
About helium
Helium was founded in 2013 to build the first global IoT network. Based on the Helium blockchain, Helium enables everyone to be rewarded in the HNT cryptocurrency for becoming a network operator and providing connectivity for the Internet of Things (IoT). The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
The company launched the Helium Hotspot, a new device that uses LongFi technology to provide hundreds of square kilometers of wireless coverage while mining HNT on the Helium blockchain. Using open source technology, third party vendors have now built compatible hotspots since the original Helium hotspot debuted.
