HNT jumps nearly 100% after Celina turns Wi-Fi into cell coverage

HNT jumped almost 100% on Saturday after Celina, Texas, deployed existing city Wi-Fi as cell coverage. Helium announced the deployment on Friday. The deployment covers the Celina Public Library. It also covers the Ralph O'Dell Senior Center and some downtown shops. Helium added a layer that lets phones treat the Wi-Fi hotspots as cell coverage. Phones use credentials stored on their SIM cards to connect. Users do not need an app or password. AT&T signed on to the same Helium system in April 2025. That deal enables the automatic connection. Amy Alexander, the City of Celina's director of information technology, said the city used Wi-Fi it already owned without spending on new towers. Celina added 12,710 residents in a year. The city grew 24.6% during that period. The growth was the fastest among U.S. cities with more than 20,000 residents. The Celina sites carry about 100 GB of data per day. HNT added roughly $37 million in market value after the news broke on Friday. HNT gained 97.4% over 30 days. Almost all of that gain came in the final 24 hours. About $44 million of HNT changed hands in one day. That turnover exceeded half of the token's $79 million market value. HNT traded near $0.42. HNT remained down 85.6% over 12 months. The token's 2021 Helium price peak was $54.88.