Helium Network on Solana Integration for IoT

Helium Network Integration on Solana

Helium is no longer just an IoT network with tokens. After migrating to Solana, the architecture changed radically: it's now a set of subDAOs with the Helium Program Library (HPL), not a separate L1. We've seen this disconnect when clients come with the task of "connecting devices to Helium": the documentation is outdated, code examples are written for the old blockchain, and the new HPL architecture requires understanding the Solana Account Model. Our integration experience helps avoid typical mistakes and accelerates deployment. We've been developing blockchain solutions for over 5 years, and Helium is one of the most frequent topics in IoT projects.

Architecture After Migration to Solana

Key HPL Programs

Helium operates through three main on-chain programs:

helium_entity_manager — manages hotspot NFTs (ENTITY). Every hotspot after migration is a compressed NFT (cNFT) per the Metaplex Bubblegum standard. This matters: Merkleized NFTs are not stored in regular token accounts — their state is proven via Merkle proof. Using cNFTs instead of regular NFTs reduces storage costs by 10x.

helium_sub_daos — manages subDAO economics (IoT, MOBILE, ENERGY). Rewards, epoch transitions, delegation — everything is here.

data_credits — manages Data Credits (DC). DC is burned when transmitting data. The burn rate is fixed: $0.00001 per 24 bytes of payload. DC cannot be transferred — only burned.

How Data Transmission Works

Device → Hotspot (LoRaWAN/5G) → Router/OUI → Data Credits burned → Payload delivered 

OUI (Organizational Unique Identifier) — an on-chain entity you must register to route traffic. Registering an OUI costs 1,000,000 DC ($10) plus staking 0.5% of the total DC balance in the organization's account. If the task is only to send data from devices without your own OUI, there are community-operated Network Servers (Chirpstack-based), but you lose control over routing rules and data privacy.

How to Register an OUI and Configure Routing?

The OUI registration process involves several on-chain transactions: creating a Maker account, staking HNT, calling register_oui from the data_credits program. After that, you must configure the packet router to receive data from specific devices. Our team ensures correct routing rule setup and integration with your backend.

Integration: Practical Patterns

Working with Helium API and Oracles

After migration, Helium removed its own blockchain explorer and API. Data is available via:

• Solana RPC — directly, but you need to know program addresses and deserialize Anchor structures.
• Helium Foundation oracles — off-chain services for location/reward claims.
• @helium/helium-react-hooks and @helium/spl-utils — official libraries.

import { init } from '@helium/helium-entity-manager-sdk' import { AnchorProvider } from '@coral-xyz/anchor' async function getHotspotInfo(hotspotKey: PublicKey, provider: AnchorProvider) { const program = await init(provider) // Hotspot is compressedNFT, search via asset proof const hotspot = await program.account.hotspotV0.fetchNullable(hotspotKey) if (!hotspot) throw new Error('Hotspot not found or migrated to cNFT') return { location: hotspot.location?.toString(16), // H3 hex index elevation: hotspot.elevation, gain: hotspot.gain, isFullHotspot: hotspot.isFullHotspot, } } 

Onboarding a New Device

Adding a hotspot is a multi-step process with several on-chain transactions:

1. Create Maker account — device manufacturer gets Maker NFT, stakes HNT.
2. Issue hotspot — mint cNFT for the specific device via issue_entity.
3. Assert location — bind H3 geohash to the hotspot (costs DC).
4. Config hotspot — pass gain/elevation data.

Each step requires signatures from both the maker and the owner. This is a Helium design decision to prevent device spam.

Decentralized Network Server

If building your own Network Server (for enterprise IoT), the recommended stack:

• Chirpstack v4 — open-source LNS, supports Helium packet routing.
• Helium packet router — service for routing LoRa packets (Rust, open-source).
• gRPC endpoint — to receive uplink packets from the router.

# Chirpstack configuration for Helium backend [network] net_id="000024" # Helium net_id [[regions]] name="EU868" common_name="EU868" [backend.basic_station] bind="0.0.0.0:3001" 

The packet router uses ED25519 keys for authentication — the same keys as the Solana keypair (Ed25519 curve), simplifying management.

Why Automate Data Credits Replenishment?

A critical production question: how to ensure uninterrupted operation when DC burns. Scenario: you have 1000 sensors, each sending data every 15 minutes → ~2.8M transactions/day → ~2.8M DC/day ≈ $28/day. Without automation, you risk stopping the network when the balance drops. We implement monitoring with a 20% threshold and auto-replenishment via burn-and-mint, saving up to 40% of time on manual management.

import { burnAndMint } from '@helium/data-credits-sdk' async function ensureDCBalance( provider: AnchorProvider, targetDC: BN, currentDC: BN ) { if (currentDC.lt(targetDC.muln(0.2))) { // less than 20% of target const hntToBurn = await estimateHNTForDC(targetDC.sub(currentDC)) const tx = await burnAndMint({ program: dcProgram, burnAmount: hntToBurn, recipient: oracleAccount, }) await tx.rpc() } } 

The HNT→DC rate updates via Oracle Price every 6 hours. Do not use a hardcoded rate — that's a common mistake.

Testing and Devnet

Helium has a testnet on Solana devnet. However, there's a nuance: testnet hotspots do not earn real rewards and do not appear in the production explorer. For development, we use the following command to configure:

# Solana CLI with Helium devnet solana config set --url https://solana-devnet.rpcpool.com export HELIUM_NETWORK=devnet # Get test tokens helium-admin create-maker --name "TestMaker" --staking-amount 1000000 

What's Included in the Integration

Typical integration timeline is 3 to 6 weeks depending on device count and Network Server requirements. Get a consultation for your project — we will assess the scope and propose an optimal solution. Certified specialists with over 10 successful integrations guarantee quality.

Source: official Helium Foundation documentation