Telefonica joins Helium

After Telekom now Telefonica. Nova Labs brings in the next telecom giant for its own Helium network.

Nova Labs, the development studio behind Helium, has secured another important partner for the stability of its own mobile network: Telefonica.

Nova Labs announced the collaboration Wednesday in a blog post.

Specifically, it involves the provision of so-called "Helium Mobile Hotspots." These support Helium's crypto-powered 5G network, to which Telefonica can now transfer data traffic.

Telefonica customers can connect to the hotspots via their SIM card. The authentication process is also done through this card.

The pilot project is currently limited to Mexico, specifically the metropolises of Mexico City and Oaxaca. It is unclear at this time whether it will be expanded to Europe.

After the announcement, the native coin HNT rose 14 percent. Current price: $6.95 dollars.

In late December, Helium partnered with T-Mobile USA. There, customers were offered a low-cost mobile phone contract that included the Helium network in certain locations.

With Telefonica, Nova Labs has brought in the next big fish. According to the company, the telecom group has more than 360 million customers worldwide. In Germany, O₂ is one of the group's companies.