Proof of Coverage: HNT, mobile, & AI create a trillion-dollar opportunity for Helium Network | EP 77

Frank Mong, COO of Helium, joins me on CLIMB to explain how a people-built wireless network gives your phone auto-coverage at venues big and small, why carriers offload to Helium, and how HNT crypto token aligns millions of micro-operators. We get specifics on the network's proof, economics, and the path to scale.

What we cover:
• The core loop: how HNT incentives power a distributed hotspot network, then services like Helium Mobile and carrier offload sit on top.
• Why indoor connectivity still breaks, and how auto-auth fixes the “fragmented Wi-Fi” problem for users.
• Carrier value, venue telemetry for real offload decisions during congestion. BWI airport as a live case.
• Proof beats in the wild: NYC LinkNYC kiosks and restaurants, Hudson Yards, airports, SMBs like Liberty Bagel and Williamsburg Pizza.
• Quality zones, what they are, why density and reliability trump raw hotspot count.
• How a venue joins just by plugging a $250 hotspot.
• Security in one minute, traffic encrypted, SIM-based auto-auth, user traffic isolated from the venue LAN.
• Business model in plain terms, $0 or $15 or $30 plans, CAC near $10, daily net adds in the low thousands, how hosts get paid, how telemetry becomes revenue.
• Why tokens instead of fiat rebates, programmatic coordination and Data Credits for usage.
• Moat, density, Proof-of-Coverage corpus, and a lower $ per GB than incumbents.
• Five-year vision and the operating rule, and why startups are about staying alive long enough to get lucky.

Interesting datapoints from the conversation:
• NYC, over 6,000 hotspots and roughly 52 TB of data transferred over 30 days.
• Helium's plans at $0, $15, and $30. CAC near $10. Net adds roughly 1.5–2k per day.

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