The long-anticipated day has arrived! The Recommended Hex Boosting Map has been launched, presenting a golden opportunity to leverage this information for optimizing your rewards. And we're not talking about trivial amounts – a simple Wifi hotspot could potentially outperform a 430 and 436 in terms of rewards. Let's dig deeper; explore the comprehensive breakdown below.
What's Hex Boosting?
Hex Boosting: A Simple Concept with Significant Rewards. When you position a hotspot within a boosted hex, you unlock a reward multiplier for your POC earnings. Observe the illustrated example below, showcasing enhanced hexes. In this representation, three hexes benefit from a 100x boost each. This implies that placing a hotspot within any of these hexes will amplify your coverage points (explained below) rewards by a factor of 100. Deploy hotspots in all three hexes? Anticipate a remarkable 300x reward boost. These hexes are meticulously selected by Helium Mobile; they are projected to handle substantial data flow within these specific zones. By placing a hotspot here, you contribute to diverting traffic away from T-Mobile towers, reducing their costs. Opting for our own radios is notably more cost-effective. Once a hex undergoes boosting, its boosted status will remain in effect for a minimum of 6 months. Following this period, the decision to re-boost or not lies with the service provider, Helium Mobile. This is an aspect worth keeping in mind.
Let's Discuss: Coverage Points.
A Key Element for Strategic Insight Moving Ahead. Emphasizing the significance of this topic is essential – it should not be overlooked. Our aim is to empower everyone with the utmost knowledge at their disposal. Typically, coverage points reflect the signal strength within the covered hex. Currently, there exist three tiers of coverage points, particularly pertinent to outdoor radios like the 430, 436, and the anticipated outdoor WiFi model.
Signal Strength and Coverage Points Visualized:
- Strong Signal: 16 Coverage Points (Red)
- Moderate Signal: 8 Coverage Points (Green)
- Weak Signal: 4 Coverage Points (Purple)
For enhanced clarity, the hexes have been color-coded in our example. The white hex indicates the location of the radio. The adjacent hexes, marked in red, boast a robust signal, yielding 16 coverage points each. As we move further, the signal strength diminishes, transitioning to the green category, earning 8 coverage points per hex. Eventually, the signal weakens even more, falling into the purple range and garnering 4 coverage points per hex. Depending on how you install the radio, will vastly affect its coverage points.
Considering the illustrated scenario, the cumulative coverage points tally up to: 88.
Transitioning from our outdoor exploration, let's now delve into the more lucrative domain: indoor units. Coverage points within indoor environments exhibit distinct behavior compared to outdoor setups. Beginning with the indoor CBRS radio, its characteristics differ due to its indoor positioning. This unit encompasses a fixed number of hexes – precisely 7. The central hex carries a weight of 400 coverage points, while the surrounding 6 hexes contribute 100 coverage points each, resulting in a cumulative coverage point value of 1000. These numbers do not change.
Moving forward, let's delve into an exciting topic: indoor WiFi. Although it's not currently available for purchase, it's anticipated to be on the market within the upcoming 6 weeks. The indoor WiFi unit boasts a straightforward design. It encompasses a single hex, and the central point holds a substantial value of 400 coverage points. Remember this information, as we will elucidate its significance in the following section below.
The Vital Role of Coverage Points in Maximizing Rewards
Now that you understand how coverage points work. Watch us go over the math below. I am going to use the same location. This location has 3 hexs, they are each boosted 100x.
Considering this setup, we've positioned a 430h unit at a height of 160ft on the adjacent building. Its orientation is carefully aligned with the boosted hexes. This arrangement encompasses a total of 1833 hexes, amassing an impressive 7,900 coverage points. Covering those three boosted hexes surely feels rewarding! Now, let's delve into the reward calculation. For the sake of this calculation, let's assume all three boosted hexes are enveloped in a robust signal, each earning 16 coverage points. Multiplying this by 100x for all three hexes results in an additional 4800 coverage points. Deducting the original 3 hexes (16 points each), you're left with an incremental gain of 4752 coverage points. This elevates your total coverage points to 12,652 – quite impressive, right? But buckle up, because things are about to take an exhilarating turn.
Prepare for the Astonishing Math. Let's consider an indoor WiFi hotspot. Recall its substantial 400 coverage points? Now, let's position it within one of the three hexes. Voilà! With the 100x boost, those 400 points transform into an astounding 40,000 coverage points. And here's the kicker: there are two adjacent free hexes where we could also install the hotspot, giving us a grand total of 120,000 coverage points. For the sake of this discussion, let's stick with the single WiFi hotspot scenario.
Do you see the disparity here? The cost of installing a 430h comes to approximately $2,500, yielding only 12,652 points. Moreover, it's a more intricate setup requiring rooftop access for optimal signal. Now, let's contrast this with the WiFi hotspot, which is estimated at just $250 – that's right, two hundred fifty dollars. Yet, it garners a whopping 40,000 coverage points within the same 100x boosted hex. Following this logic, you're reaping three times the rewards for something that costs only one-tenth of the price. It's a clear-cut, no-brainer strategy.
Before any objections arise, I'm well aware of another counterargument. Some might suggest that if multiple hexes are boosted, the situation changes. That's a valid point and accurate. In fact, this happens to be one of the more extensive hex boosts we've encountered thus far.
With a total of 354 hexes in play, boasting a 30x boost, let's revisit the previous example. Imagine you've achieved 7,900 coverage points from a solitary 430h hotspot. Giving the benefit of doubt, let's assume all 354 hexes are under flawless signal, each contributing 16 coverage points. Apply the 30x multiplier, and you're looking at a grand total of 177,820 coverage points. So, in this particular scenario, the outdoor radio does appear to be the right choice. Or does it?
Now, if we shift focus to the WiFi unit, which starts at 400 coverage points and gains a 30x multiplier, each hotspot brings in 12,000 coverage points. To attain the same coverage point count here, approximately 15 WiFi hotspots would be needed. Thus, it indeed makes logical sense to aim for coverage using an outdoor radio in this expansive area!
Rewards will drop as more hotspots come online, and faster if in a boosted hex
I'll make an effort to simplify this as much as possible. Let's imagine a hypothetical scenario where there's a pie of 10 million Mobile tokens to be shared among everyone each day. The current formula works like this:
(your coverage points / total network coverage points) * total daily emissions = your daily rewards
Currently, the entire network has about 18 million coverage points, which is the sum of coverage points from all hotspots combined. The daily emissions are the 10 million Mobile tokens to be shared, as mentioned earlier.
So, if you have a hotspot with coverage points that contribute to the total, you can calculate your daily rewards using the formula:
(your coverage points / 18,000,000) * 10,000,000 = your daily rewards
Now, let's imagine we have already a WiFi hotspot in an area with a 100x boost, giving it 40,000 coverage points.
(40,000 / 18,000,000) * 10,000,000 = 22,222 Mobile Tokens per day.
This means you would earn 22,222 Mobile Tokens per day with this boosted WiFi hotspot.
However, the interesting part is when more hotspots are added. Let's say we install another WiFi hotspot with 40,000 coverage points in a boosted area, increasing the total network coverage points to 18,040,000. Recalculating:
(40,000 / 18,040,000) * 10,000,000 = 22,172 Mobile Tokens per day.
You'll notice a slight drop of 50 Mobile Tokens. This is due to the new hotspot increasing the total network coverage points and subsequently reducing rewards for everyone.
Now, let's escalate the situation further. Imagine adding 400 WiFi hotspots, each with 40,000 coverage points, in boosted areas. This adds 16 million coverage points to the total. The calculation would be:
(40,000 / 34,040,000) * 10,000,000 = 11,750 Mobile Tokens per day.
Remember, a few weeks ago, your WiFi hotspot was earning 22,222 Mobile Tokens per day. However, with the addition of 400 new hotspots, your earnings have dropped to 11,750 Mobile Tokens.
This example should help clarify how rewards decrease rapidly as more hotspots are placed in boosted areas. If you have lower coverage points, unfortunately, your rewards will drop faster than those with higher coverage points. This effect still happens if hotspots are placed in non boosted hexes. It's just accelerated when in boosted Hexes.
Final thoughts
Hex boosting is set to revolutionize the entire landscape, but regrettably, individuals with fewer coverage points might experience a downside. It's likely that if your coverage points are below 40,000, your rewards could see a notable decline. In my opinion, this shift will encourage the establishment of effective coverage in the regions desired by Helium Mobile, rather than haphazard coverage across the USA. It's important to note that hex boosting will first be introduced in Miami, so bear that in mind. Thanks to the precise recommendations for specific locations, we can anticipate a significant increase in data transfer within these regions.
Feel free to explore the present list of suggested hex-boosted regions on the Moken explorer at this link: https://explorer.moken.io/recommended-locations. It's important to note that these suggestions are subject to change and might not necessarily remain boosted in the future. The definitive list of hex-boosted locations will be disclosed sometime during Q4 2023. As you proceed, exercise care and thoughtfulness in your deployments.