Helium Roaming Revolution

In 2021, the Helium Community approved HIP 46, an Improvement Proposal which outlined a method to accept and route data traffic from third-party NetIDs. HIP 46 introduced the concept that any LoRaWAN Network operator could purchase packets heard by Helium Network Hotspots that matched their LoRa Alliance-assigned NetID. Through a series of implemented changes, the Helium IOT Network saw greater adoption through the usage of the network through these existing LPWAN operators.

On the Helium L1, the implementation of this roaming arrangement depended on a centralized platform which aggregated and distributed these messages to roaming users. With the migration to Solana, this legacy platform known as Roaming Console was sunset. Each user on this console was required to onboard using their own Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI). This unique OUI, configured with the appropriate NetID and keys, is used to create and manage custom routes, and fund data traffic at base prices ($.00001 per 24 byte packet). As of this week, all existing Helium Roaming Users have now fully transitioned to this interoperable and self-managed infrastructure.

Roaming with a NetID

NetIDs, assigned by the LoRa Alliance, are used by networks for assigning network-specific addresses to their end-devices so that uplink frames sent by those devices can be forwarded to their home network by collaborating networks.

Roaming with a NetID allows companies to host their own private or public LoRaWAN infrastructure, and expand coverage areas by working together with third-party networks. By utilizing assigned device addresses, collaborating networks can easily identify and forward the proper traffic.

The State of Roaming on Helium

Including industry leaders like Senet, UPLINK Network, Actility, X-Telia, and SkyNet, Helium’s macro LoRaWAN coverage serves over 10 active roaming networks and over 25 Helium-only LNS operators.

Helium Enables:

• Device-level controls with session key filtering or configuration by device address blocks
• Access to base network fees of $.00001 usd per 24 byte packet (100,000 packets for $1)
• Custom endpoints for data ingestion

Roaming networks can configure custom routing rules that best serve companies’ unique applications. In practice, this includes enabling roaming in a variety of applications:

Filling Coverage Gaps

Roaming on Helium allows companies to leverage wide-spread, redundant coverage in areas where their coverage may be limited. This can be especially useful, for example, for devices that are mobile like trackers that constantly move between gateways without a pre-defined path.

Expanding to New Geographies

Companies expanding their operations into new geographies can integrate Helium for net new device fleets, instantly enabling entire large metro areas with little to no infrastructure investment. Helium’s robust and redundant coverage can be used as a base layer for new deployments.

Improving Network Reliability and Resilience

Mission critical applications from natural disaster alerting to cold chain monitoring require constant reliable coverage. Companies can deploy networks and sensors directly on Helium, or use Helium coverage to supplement private network infrastructure to boost reliability with additional redundant coverage. This provides layers of protection for any self-hosted infrastructure that could go offline during an emergency.

Interested in learning more and building on the Helium Network? Whether you’re looking to develop an existing use case or start from scratch, the Helium Foundation is here to help.

Connect with the Helium Foundation, the developers supporting this project, and the global Helium community on Helium’s Community Discord.