Dish Partners With Crypto Shop Helium to Help Expand 5G Network

Dish Network, which is in the process of building a fourth nationwide US wireless network, has enlisted the help of Helium to extend 5G signals through customers’ hotspots. The plan calls for customers to install transmitters in their homes or offices. These devices work on unlicensed 5G airwaves and customers will be paid in cryptocurrency to host the hotspots. Dish is under pressure to build a next-generation 5G network using its arsenal of airwave licenses that carry a use-or-lose requirement. To date, Dish has only launched a beta version of the 5G network in parts of Las Vegas, with a bigger coverage area to be announced in 2022. The company will use crypto startup Helium’s incentive model with customers deploying their own 5G hotspots. Currently the startup’s hotspot providers can earn rewards in the form of Helium’s token, which currently has a $2.3 billion market value. Helium currently aggregates more than 240,000 hotspots across 21,000 cities in North America, Europe and Asia.