Since shipping Helium Hotspots in October 2019, the Helium Network is now in 745+ cities and all 50 states, and Puerto Rico. We are excited to announce today, with Semtech, that the Helium Network supports LoRaWAN 1.0.x immediately. All existing LoRaWAN compatible devices will work on the Helium Network seamlessly across the United States. You can read more about the announcement here.

What’s the difference between Helium LongFi and LoRaWAN?

LoRaWAN is strictly a wireless protocol while previously LongFi architecture was made up of two components: the LongFi wireless protocol, and the Helium Blockchain.

The LongFi wireless protocol was initially designed as a replacement for the LoRaWAN wireless protocol.

The Helium Blockchain eliminates the need for customers to deploy their own gateways or network servers, delivers roaming capabilities, and supports micropayment transactions so customers can pay based on device usage.

We swapped the LongFi wireless protocol for LoRaWAN, but the Helium Blockchain remains a core component.