Thread by @KyleSamani

0/ Today we are excited announce that @multicoincap has co-led a $15M round in @helium with @usv

Helium represents the most compelling new use case for blockchains since the advent of smart contracts on Ethereum

A thread

Our blog post - multicoin.capital/2019/06/12/hel…

1/ Before jumping into the thesis, also see announcements from Helium directly and USV

USV - usv.com/blog/helium

Helium - blog.helium.com/telcos-arent-t…

2/ Helium is pioneering an entirely new business model for deploying and managing wireless networks

Today, building out wireless networks is one of the most capital intensive businesses on the planet

Global annual telecom capex spend is measured in the trillions

3/ Rather than a single company building out a wireless network, Helium produces commodity hardware and open source software that consumers and business owners can buy

Setup is less than 5 minutes

Plug in electricity, ethernet, and download app

4/ Consumer hotspots produce local radio waves. Any device nearby can use the consumer's hotspot, and pay for usage on a per-byte basis in real time

5/ The Helium network is truly decentralized - it's a wireless network owned by everyone

6/ V1 of Helium network is not going after 3G/4G/5G networks, but instead low power WAN for IOT devices

The first Helium network is in the 900MHz frequency band. Hotspot range is 3-10 miles, and battery requirements are low, on the order of 10,000x more power efficient / byte

7/ The network is rolling out shortly, starting in Austin, TX. The first users of the network are going to be bikes and scooters

8/ Over time, we expect the Helium network to create ubiquitous coverage, enabling an entirely new class of IOT devices to roam the planet that previously could not

9/ So, why does this need blockchain?

Two reasons:

First, micro payments

Second, proof of coverage and proof of location

10/ Almost all IOT use cases require devices to report their location. But GPS is battery intensive. Fortunately, using 3 Helium hotspots, the network itself can identify a device's location using triangulation

11/ But in order for triangulation to work, you need to know where the hotspots are

If anyone can buy a hotspot at home, the network needs to be able to detect if a hotspot is lying about its stated location

12/ That's where proof of coverage and proof of location come into play, both of which are an integral part of consensus

In consensus terms, these mechanisms also provide sybil-resistance, and from there, the Helium network runs vanilla Honeybadger BFT

13/ All the technical details are available in the Helium white paper

whitepaper.helium.com

14/ If you'd like to participate in the Helium network, you can buy a hotspot here

helium.com/store

15/ And that's a wrap!

{fin}