People like saving money, especially with the way prices have skyrocketed lately on everything from eggs to streaming services. One monthly cost that everyone has to deal with is phone service. Whether it’s through a major carrier or one of the many MVNOs available, there’s always a cost. Or is there?
An MVNO called Helium has been around in some form or another since 2013. We previously covered when the company went “nationwide” a little over a year ago and began offering unlimited phone service for $20 per month.
The company operates individual “hotspots” around the country that individuals can purchase and set up at their home or business to create a CBRS cellular network. Those hotspots generate a cryptocurrency for the hotspot purchaser when it’s used for the network. It’s all a bit unusual, but it’s a novel idea to create a “community-built network”.
The company also uses T-Mobile as a backup connection when a node isn’t within range which is likely, at the moment, most of the time.
Now there’s three new plans from Helium, and one of them is completely free.
A Completely Free Phone Plan?
A waitlist form popped up mid-December on the Helium website. First shared on Twitter, the page originally said “FREE is the magic number, together we’ll free connectivity” and asked for your email address to join the waitlist. After signup, users were given a unique referral link to share with others, and when someone signs up with your link, you get “moved up” in line.
As of today, February 4th, Helium has updated their site with more details about their new plans. Overnight, the site went dark, and around 7am relaunched with all the information you’d want.
The new “Zero” plan will feature 3GB of data, 300 texts, and 100 talk minutes. Other plans have more data.
Over on Reddit, users correctly predicted the new plan’s details. Apparently, a previous post shared a screenshot of the plan details, but was later removed.
The plan will nearly be the first of its kind. The only other service that offers actually free service (that we’re aware of) is TextNow. Funded by in-app ads, they offer unlimited Talk and Text, but only 1GB of data that can only be used for “essentials” like maps, emails, and chat apps.
Is Free Actually Free? How?
So how could they possibly offer free service? Simple—selling user data. The old adage “If the product is free, you are the product” likely applies here.
The blog post that went live today shares that the free plan rewards users for “sharing your anonymized data” with something called cloud points (more on that in a bit).
The company recently sent emails to existing users warning of new CPNI (Customer Proprietary Network Information) policies that would soon be enacted, shown below. The timing does suggest that the new terms would allow the company to do whatever necessary to fund the “Zero” plan.
Of course, this is all speculation so far. We don’t know for certain if this is how the company will fund the plan. They could implement an ads-based system like TextNow, or generate revenue some other way.
What Are “Cloud Points”?
As a reward for their customers sharing “anonymized user data”, Helium Mobile gives “cloud points”. These points can be redeemed for rewards like gift cards and swag.
The blog post states that while other companies use your data “without your consent”, Helium is at least rewarding you for that data. Plus, if you refer friends and give feedback, you can earn even more points.
Helium’s Other Plans
The new plans that just went live today include the “Zero” plan, as well as two other plans: “Air” and “Infinity”.
The new “Air” plan is $15 per month, and includes 10GB of data along with unlimited calls and texts, whereas the “Infinity” plan includes, as its name suggests, unlimited data for $30 per month (a notable $10 increase over their previous unlimited plan).
Both the “Zero” and “Air” plans have the option to add an additional 1GB of data for $7.50 after the allotted data has been used.
Is It Worth It?
Overall, if you’re looking to cut back on expenses and don’t need much monthly data (nor do you talk on the phone a lot), the new free “Zero” plan might be exactly what you’re looking for. If you need a bit more, the “Air” and “Infinity” plans are also an option.
The new plans appear to be invite only, and as of today’s website update it seems customers may soon begin receiving their invite codes.
If you’re interested in any of the mentioned plans, you can sign up for the waitlist using the link below. Do note, we’re interested too, so our link below is a referral link.
Thanks Clint for sending us a copy of the CPNI email!
