Airwaive

Airwaive is a blockchain-powered decentralized wireless broadband platform that is transforming the traditional telecommunications infrastructure model by connecting wireless service providers with home and business owners who earn income by operating wireless access points in their neighborhoods. Founded in 2020 by former ZTE and AT&T executive Jeff Yee and blockchain serial entrepreneur Bin Zhu, Airwaive replaces the typical land acquisition and cell tower installation process for wireless carriers with an innovative platform-sharing model that enables a network of small cells where property owners operate wireless equipment and earn cryptocurrency rewards based on network traffic.

The company's disruptive marketplace model is particularly valuable for mid- and high-band 5G deployments, which require dense networks of small cells due to the limited range of high-frequency signals. Airwaive creates a proof-of-connectivity (PoC) consensus mechanism that leverages blockchain technology to incentivize property owners to host wireless network equipment, eliminating the costly and time-consuming traditional process of site acquisition, lease negotiation, and tower construction. This approach has been described as an "Airbnb for wireless networking equipment," democratizing wireless infrastructure deployment and bringing affordable broadband internet access to underserved communities.

Airwaive raised $3 million in seed funding in February 2022 led by United Overseas Bank (UOB) Venture Management and Signum Capital, with participation from strategic crypto venture capital firms including Fenbushi Capital, Spartan Group, Fundamental Labs, Digital Finance Group, and others. The company has grown to serve more than 30 wireless operators with over 6 million potential host locations in its marketplace. Airwaive is expanding aggressively across Latin America, bringing thousands of new sites to its wireless network in Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and other countries. Led by JDI Global, the hardware leader for the Helium IoT network, Airwaive has assembled a team of wireless and satellite experts to close the digital divide by bringing affordable, wireless internet to homes around the world. The company recently launched Airwaive Visualize, a generative AI-powered tool that brings natural language search capabilities to telecom site acquisition and management, further streamlining the deployment process for wireless carriers.