You might not be familiar with Helium Mobile, but you should get acquainted with the company if you want to spend less on your phone bill. That’s because Helium introduced three new mobile plans this week, including the nation’s first free phone plan. For $0/month, you get 3GB of data, 300 texts, and 100 minutes of voice calling. Pay $15 or $30 each month, and those limits increase significantly.
You might think this must be all a marketing gimmick. Nothing is free, so how can Helium afford to offer a free plan? The explanation might lie in how Helium works. It’s not just a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) that uses a larger provider (T-Mobile in this case) to provide coverage to interested consumers. Helium also builds its own 5G network in ways other carriers have not considered.
Helium owns an expanding decentralized network where individuals operate small cellular hotspots. Combined with T-Mobile’s network, these 5G hotspots help reduce costs.
This explains how the new Zero Plan can exist and serve those smartphone owners looking for the cheapest possible solution to get 5G data and voice minutes. Access to Zero Plan customers’ anonymized data is another.
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Helium Mobile launched the first-ever free phone plan, with 5G data and voice for $0 originally appeared on BGR.com on Wed, 5 Feb 2025 at 13:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.