Andrew Yang’s Noble Mobile buys Helium Mobile for low-cost 5G

Andrew Yang’s Noble Mobile has acquired Helium Mobile. Financial terms were not disclosed. Noble will use the decentralized Helium network together with T‑Mobile’s 5G coverage to offer lower-cost mobile plans. Existing Helium Mobile subscribers will keep their phone numbers and maintain access to the same T‑Mobile-powered 5G network.

Helium Mobile was built on the Helium network, a decentralized system of roughly 139,000 user-operated hotspots that act like small cell towers. The network rewards hotspot operators with the Solana-based HNT token. Public network dashboards report more than 2.6 million daily users and daily revenue above $47,000.

Nova Labs, the company that founded Helium and launched Helium Mobile, will shift its focus to growing the underlying network and onboarding additional partners. Frank Mong, Helium Mobile’s chief operating officer, described the sale as a way to accelerate the network business: “Our network business is the largest opportunity in front of us.” He also noted the company has onboarded major U.S. carriers to offload traffic at scale.

Noble plans to emphasize affordable service plans and to combine Helium’s crowd-built coverage with conventional carrier partnerships to run mobile operations and customer accounts. Helium Mobile previously tested a free plan but discontinued that offering.

The acquisition does not change how the Helium network compensates hotspot operators; HNT remains the reward token. The token’s market value has been volatile, falling about 28% over 30 days and roughly 7% in the last day, trading near $0.64 according to network data.

Noble will manage customer relationships and mobile service operations inherited from Helium Mobile, while Nova Labs will continue to maintain and expand the network infrastructure. Helium Mobile executives expect a smooth transition and continuity of service for subscribers during the change in ownership.