Helium says its crypto mesh network is used by Lime and Salesforce — it isn’t

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The parent company of Helium, which was praised by The New York Times earlier this year, misled people about the companies it works with. Lime, the company behind those electric scooters and bikes, uses Helium's wireless network on its website. According to the company, it hasn't had a relationship with the company since the beginning of the year.

One of the logos that appeared on Helium's website was that ofSalesforce, but it doesn't use the technology. Helium is not a partner ofSalesforce, according to the company's spokesman. Helium's website had a graphic that was not accurate, when I asked about it.

The logos of Lime andSalesforce were removed from Helium's home page sometime during the afternoon. The company hasn't responded to an email from The Verge about its relationship withSalesforce at this time.

It is relatively easy to understand Helium's core pitch, though there are ways to make it more complicated. If you put a Helium hotspot in your house, the network users can connect to it when they need some data. You would earn more HNT if you had more data through your hotspot.

The people running the network are able to make money from the data provided by the others. It is important to note that using your home internet like this is against the terms of service agreements for many internet service providers. The economics work because companies or individuals pay to use Helium's network.

Members of the r/helium subreddit have been increasingly vocal about seeing poor Helium returns.



On average, they spent $400-800 to buy a hotspot. They were expecting $100/month, enough to recoup their costs and enjoy passive income.



Then their earnings dropped to only $20/mo. pic.twitter.com/0jx2zLUaiA

— Liron Shapira (@liron) July 26, 2022

We have to ask who is going to pay for it. It looks like not many people. According to a report from The Generalist, only a small amount of data credits were spent to access Helium's network last month. If Lime were actually connecting its scooters to the network, or if customers were using it to monitor warehouses, it would be a lot less expensive.

Lime and Victor were listed as Helium users by the New York Times. Victor didn't respond to questions about whether it uses the network after Lime denied that. The site that Helium claimed to be the place to buy Victor mousetraps no longer sells them. There isn't any mention of Helium in Victor's documentation

A Helium Network user requires 50,000 DCs per month to send data for their fleet of Helium- connected mouse traps. These exist, and they are wonderful.

Helium's 5G network was used by Dish last year. There is an announcement on Helium's home page.

I would like to think of a way to end this. According to the author of the Times story, Helium only came up with the idea when it was on the verge of collapse, and that it couldn't really work without the technology. Overwhelmed communities have had to build their own networks after being ignored by the government and communications companies. The Helium ad suggests that people would only be willing to do something for their community if they are paid for it. It isn't surprising that Helium misrepresented a crucial piece of the puzzle.