What you should know about Helium’s PoCv11
The Helium blockchain is about to get one of its most important updates ever. The blockchain uses a special algorithm called Proof-of-Coverage (PoC). And on November 1st, 2021, PoC will get an update to its 11th version, aka PoCv11. It will bring major changes which aim to improve the transparency of the network quality and to lay the foundation for the next major step of the Helium Network expansion.
What is PoC
The Helium Network is unique as it’s fully decentralized and anyone and everyone can add their compatible hotspots to it. This allows for an easy and fast deployment of hotspots and to quickly add coverage everywhere. In order for this to happen and to motivate more hotspots, their owners are rewarded with the Helium cryptocurrency HNT as their equipment works.
For all of this to make sense, somehow the Network has to validate that the Hotspots are where they claim they are and that they actually exist (not simply a spoof). This is where the Proof-of-Coverage algorithm comes in. PoC is a special complex process which validates that Hotspots are at their actual, claimed locations and operate within the stated parameters. It’s a continuous process which involves other participating Hotspots in the Network as Challengers, Challengees and Witnesses.
Why PoCv11 is important
PoCv11 will implement some much needed changes into the process. Thanks to them the system will enjoy significant improvements in data collection for the validating process. It will also take into account important information such as whether or not the antennas are operating within their local regulation requirements.
The upgrade will also allow for future planned updates which will improve incorrectly asserted and/or spoofed Hotspot locations. This will further improve quality of the Helium Network as it reaches its next milestone of 1M active hotspots and above.
The most important changes
With all of that said, let’s check out the most important changes that PoCv11 brings. They will affect every Hotspot on the Helium Network. So, make sure that you get to know them and prepare.
Region awareness
Up until now, the Helium blockchain had only the basic parameters for the power settings within the US and the EU. So, it didn’t know about any region-specific LoRaWAN parameters. This could have been a problem in the future as every country and region has different regulations. In order to be an effective and truly global network, all Hotspots have to operate within their local rules.
So, PoCv11 will allow the blockchain to lookup regional information and channel plans based on H3 indices. It will even have the EIRP (Effective Isotropic Radiated Power). The Helium blockchain uses Uber’s H3 grid system and it will map the indexed locations on it.
As a result, the blockchain will be able to know the regulations for the given region and will use that information to gauge whether or not the challenged Hotspots there are meeting the requirements. What’s more, it will be possible to add relevant data via governance and thus update the blockchain whenever there are LoRaWAN changes or new regions and regulations are added.
Better validation
The second important change will improve the receipt and witness validations. Thanks to this, the blockchain will consider asserted Hotspot antenna gain when calculating the PoC validation decision for both the receipt and witness.
For this to happen, the PoC will use the above mentioned region-specific EIRP data to ensure that both the witness and receipt transmissions are within the required parameters. For example, in some regions there is a limit for the maximum transmit power and thus there the Hotspots should operate with reduced power. In order to improve validation for the receiver, users can change the antenna gain. So, PoCv11 will consider that and has data for the maximum EIRP for each region, the hardware limit will check them to see the actual antenna operation. If it’s possible to asset the gain without power loss, you could get better validation. The goal of this change is to motivate Hotspot owners to set their antenna gains properly.
Possible negative effects
PoCv11 can have negative effects on your rewards if your Hotspot isn’t configured correctly. That’s the entire point of the update, to motivate everyone to set up their equipment properly and to be honest.
So, if your Hotspot operative at a higher power that your regional EIRP, the Network will deem it an illegal transmission. As a result, such transmissions will not earn any rewards.
Another change is that receipt/witness validation transmissions happen within the same LoRaWAN region or channel plan. Any transmission which are going beyond the region boundaries will be deemed invalid. There will also be a visualizer which will help Hotspot owners to correctly assert their locations and antenna gains.
What you should do
The Helium blockchain team behind PoCv11 offers three steps that Hotspot owners should do. If you don’t, then your Hotspot performance and potential rewards might be affected.
First, ensure your Hotspot is asserted in the correct location. This means the exact location and not a nearby hex or in another location in order to appear further away from another Hotspot. PoCv11 will find out if your location isn’t correct and will penalize you.
Second, assert the antenna gain. PoCv11 will keep the default gain unchanged, but many users and manufacturers use different values. So, make sure the settings are correct and don’t change them unless you have experience with signal loss calculation.
Third, encourage fellow Hotspot owners to also assert their location and antenna gains. It’s in the best interest of all Network participants to have correct information about their Hotspots. This will limit incorrect assumptions by the validation process and it will not issue potential penalties. So, when you have everything dialed in properly, PoCv11 will be only of benefit to you and you will be ready for the update.