Deeper-but-not-too-deep-dive into Helium’s Internet of Things

The Helium Network is already expanding rapidly with over 40,000 hotspots in over 1000 cities across the US and Europe. It is designed to be easy to use cheap and highly scalable providing a wireless medium for IoT devices to exchange small increments of data over unlicensed frequencies while dodging the expense of cellular networking.

Helium is based on LoRa

This decentralized network is built on LoRa networking technology. LoRa is a networking technology that provides long-range, low-power, secured data transmission. It can achieve long transmission distances using sub-gigahertz license-free frequency bands. Data is encoded and transmitted using Chirp Spread Spectrum modulation technology. LoRa networking has been able to outstrip its main competitors Bluetooth and ZigBee because it is extremely low power, meaning battery-powered devices can use LoRa to transmit in remote locations for years without running out of power. It also uses free license-free frequencies (discussed below) that make it cheaper than accessing the cellular network.

Helium’s Long Range Wide Area Networking or LoRaWAN is adapted from the low-power wide-area network owned by Semtech but differs from LoRa as The Helium Network is comprised of large numbers of privately owned and deployed networks. These nodes are known as gateways or miners and provide access for client devices to connect to the network and transfer data.

Helium network features

 Data transfer over the Helium network is:

1. Low bitrate: data packets sent over The Helium Network are small, between 10 to 1000 bytes in size. The maximum speed of data transfer usually does not exceed 5kbits per second.
2. Low-power: lower bitrates and bandwidth consumption mean that less transmitting power is required by sensors and devices which preserve battery life, sometimes for years at a time.
3. Long-distance:  Helium networks support long-range data transfer, with transmission hopping from node to node where needed. The range of a typical gateway is up to 15 kilometers (10 miles).
4. Variable bandwidth: LoRa-based technologies make efficient use of available bandwidth due to the variable spreading factor and bandwidth parameters of the chirps that carry the encoded data.

These four features make Helium a better alternative for IoT data transfer than WiFi, which is unable to match the coverage and signal penetration, as well as cellular networking which is licensed and expensive. Such clear advantages will advance Helium as a potential leader for global IoT coverage.

Helium network structure

The Helium Network has a mesh network structure with the following key participants:

• End-user devices are the IoT devices that connect to The Helium Network to send and receive encrypted data. The data is usually sensor-based and may be transmitted from a fixed or mobile location. The Helium Network has its own wireless networking protocol for this process known as WHIP.
• Hotspots, also known as miners or gateways are responsible for providing access to the Helium network. They are the individual nodes that are used to expand the coverage and quality of connectivity Helium offers. They provide the link IoT devices require to access the internet. One Helium miner is able to support the data throughput of thousands of individual IoT devices. Depending on the caliber or quality of the antenna used the coverage a gateway achieves can be several square miles, far exceeding the coverage of WiFi. Helium hotspots are privately owned and operated for profit. Helium miners cost approximately $400 and are validated through Helium’s proprietary Proof of Coverage (PoC) algorithm that verifies the hotspot location and the level of coverage it can provide. A Helium miner that has PoC is eligible to earn remuneration in the form of Helium Network Tokens, a cryptocurrency from Helium that is worth around $14 per token. Using blockchain technology, Helium miners will earn more HNT if they provide longer uptime and achieve greater coverage through a better-performing external antenna. Miners can be installed indoors or outdoors.
• Routers are key applications that acquire and use the data that has been transferred to the Helium network via a miner. For the miner to receive HNT, the router must verify receipt of the data that has been transferred. Routers are often used in non-GPS geolocation using the location of verified Helium miners to triangulate a particular device.

Helium network frequencies

Helium uses 8 channels within either the 915 MHz (US) or 868 MHz (EU) frequency bands. The frequency bands and channels are common to all LoRaWAN networking technologies. The frequency bands used are Industrial Scientific and Medical use frequency bands that are license-free, which leads to a significant cost reduction in deploying and using The Helium Network compared to cellular networking.

External LoRa antennas boost Helium network coverage

Using a compatible external antenna with a Helium network miner will boost its performance. Helium network antennas are LoRa antennas and are usually attached to the miner via an RP-SMA connector. Not only will a well-positioned high-gain LoRa antenna increase the coverage of the miner, but it will also contribute to an uplift in cryptocurrency earnings as it can be accessed and used more. If a miner with an external antenna is used in an area that has a high hotspot density, the correct selection of LoRa antenna can lead to a significant increase in mined cryptocurrency. Suitable LoRa antennas used as external antennas for miners usually range from 3 dBi to 8 dBi with outdoor omnidirectional antennas like fiberglass colinear antennas commonly used for external installation.

Key applications of The Helium Network

The Helium Network is able to support a broad range of applications that require long-distance connectivity for data transfer. In particular, it has demonstrated efficacy in providing connectivity for commercial IoT applications, where the devices are numerous, mobile, battery-operated, remote, or inaccessible. Examples include pet collars, agricultural and environmental monitoring, and smart metering. Expansion of the Helium network with more private gateways and miners with optimized coverage will increase its market share and ability to support more novel and existing IoT applications.