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NBA champion Tristan Thompson announced at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025<\/a> that he\u2019s partnering with global telecom company World Mobile to launch a community-owned mobile network called Uplift. The network offers unlimited data plans starting at $9.99 per month.<\/p>\n Uplift is built on blockchain technology and a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN).<\/p>\n With Uplift, every subscription will contribute to neighborhood-level network expansion, while local hosts that are known as \u201cAirNode operators\u201d will earn a portion of network revenue by providing community coverage. The idea behind Uplift is to challenge the $2 trillion telecom industry\u2019s centralized model by allowing users and local operators to share in the value they create.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, it\u2019s about, how can I help people that have walked the same life that I walked, and I think for us, what we\u2019re doing is providing connectivity and connection for unlimited data at a way lower cost,\u201d Thompson said on stage. \u201cIt\u2019s like, how can I help my community have a better tomorrow? And that\u2019s what this is about. And I\u2019ve been very blessed and fortunate to have a team that understands this vision. And we want to help people in America, help the inner city, and just give people hope.\u201d<\/p>\n While Thompson is known for his basketball career and winning the NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he\u2019s also an outspoken advocate for innovation and inclusion. Thompson currently holds four C-suite roles across the Web3 and fintech landscape. He\u2019s the chief digital equity officer at World Mobile and the chief advisory officer at\u00a0AxonDAO<\/a>, an AI-powered medical research platform inspired by his brother\u2019s epilepsy journey. <\/p>\n He\u2019s also the co-founder of Basketball Fun, a Web3 platform that tokenizes NBA players, and the chief content officer at Tracy AI, an AI platform for real-time sports analytics.<\/p>\n With this latest endeavor, Thompson and World Mobile are looking to drive affordable community-owned internet access. <\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco<\/span> World Mobile says this is a tested and scalable model, as it piloted it in Reno, Nevada, where community hosts have earned more than $10,000 annually by providing coverage to underserved areas. Uplift operates on infrastructure already proven through World Mobile\u2019s U.S. deployments, World Mobile says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe brought about 20% of Reno back to connectivity,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cWhen the hurricane happened in North Carolina and Asheville, Starlink went out there and try to bring connectivity, and they weren\u2019t able to, so they reached out to the World Mobile team, and we were able to get out there and send a couple of our guys on helicopters to fly in, and we were actually the ones that brought connectivity back to Asheville, North Carolina during that hurricane.\u201d<\/p>\n The new service will begin rolling out in Cleveland, Ohio, soon, and will launch in additional cities in 2026.<\/p>\n World Mobile notes that more than 50 million Americans live at or near the poverty line, with many lacking access to affordable high-speed data. Uplift aims to expand access while ensuring that wealth generated by mobile usage stays in the neighborhoods that create it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 27-29, 2025<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n