Open the Roam App on your phone, click Check-In, collect Roam Points or eSIM Data, and check in is successful.
This is what Roam users do every day - share WiFi nodes and check in. From the first registered user to now, Roam has more than 1.7 million registered users in more than 190 countries and regions around the world. It is this growing user group that has brought the first 1 million Roam network nodes.
From 1 to 1 million, what has Roam done along the way? At the beginning of the project in 2021, Roam established a Web3 working group in the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), opening the door to integrating decentralized identities (DIDs) and verifiable credentials (VCs) under the OpenRoaming™ framework, which is an important step in creating secure and seamless connections for users around the world.
In terms of products, with the support of OpenRoaming™ and blockchain technology, Roam has been constantly innovating its products: at the beginning of the year, Rainier MAX 60 officially replaced MetaBlox OG miner to become Roams second-generation WiFi router miner, and in the second half of the year, Baker MAX 30 AP miner further enriched Roams product architecture. Then, the launch of Roam eSIM was well received by the market, quickly pushing the number of Roam registered users to exceed one million nodes. It can be seen that Roam has taken every step very solidly, and this is just the beginning.
2025 roadmap released, Roam ecosystem market becomes more diverse
On December 14, Roam released its 2025 Roadmap, which comprehensively covers 11 updates in the three major modules of products, technology, and community ecology.
In 2025, Roam will bring four major product updates: Roam Loan will be officially launched in Q1. Through the official cooperation with Huma Finance, Buy Now, Pay Never will no longer be a slogan. Users can purchase and use routers with low thresholds to participate in the construction of the Roam network. The loan part will be directly deducted from the mining machine income, and the mining rewards after the loan is settled will belong to the user. In Q2, Roam Growth will usher in an important update. At that time, the product service framework of Growth will be released. At the same time, the existing Roam Growth product will also be upgraded to include more diverse sustainable income projects for users; during the second half of the year, product updates will focus more on Roam App and developer platform Roam Innovator Hub. The launch of the new Roam App 2.0 version will further enrich the interactive forms of user participation; and in the final fourth quarter, Roam will usher in the launch of Innovator Hub. This innovative platform will provide more developers with API and SDK tools and Grant support to encourage developers to complete ecological co-construction.
In terms of technology, Roam will also have four major updates next year: in the first half of the year, Roam will focus on the Proof of Presence protocol to achieve real-time verification of local interactions with the Roam network; in the third quarter, the Roam router OS system will release updates, and more new WiFi mining devices will be released, including devices provided by qualified third-party partners and mining devices from the community that support OpenRoaming™; before the end of next year, Roam will complete the full integration of WiFi and cellular data networks to achieve truly seamless roaming between the two major sectors of wireless broadband.
As another important part of Roams vision of a global open wireless network, Roam eSIM will launch a long-term version in Q1 next year, with no validity period, no binding, and no monthly fee. Roams global eSIM cellular data network will bring users more convenient connections. In addition, in terms of community and ecology, Roam Discovery will be launched in the first half of next year, with major products including Discovery Pool, Discovery IMPACT and Discovery Incubator Program. In the second half of the year, DAO community governance will be launched, and the decentralized decision-making mechanism will allow users to actively participate in community building.
As can be seen from the roadmap, in the first half of next year, with the launch of new products, the Roam ecosystem market will be greatly enriched. The three core products Roam Loan, the upgraded version of Roam Growth and Roam Discovery will be launched one after another. From how to purchase hardware devices with a low threshold to how to turn the hardware devices in hand into powerful economic tools to create sustainable income, Loan and Growth provide users with a product experience from entry to continuous advancement. In Discovery, through the three modules of Pool, IMPACT and Incubator Program, we attract outstanding peer practitioners and investors to settle in. Based on Roams innovative location-based technology and resources such as API and SDK toolkits, we provide a platform for peer practitioners, investors and developers to communicate, discover and build consensus, and promote concept innovation and project implementation. The launch of Roams long-term eSIM and the launch of the new version of Roam App will provide users with more seamless connection experience and traffic rewards. In short, the Roam ecosystem will be richer next year, and the scenarios that users can participate in will be greatly increased.
Steady and steady is the fastest pace
When Roam was launched in 2021, its original intention was to solve the pain points encountered by WBA in promoting the OpenRoaming™ program globally. It has been proven that Roams plan to encourage the community and users to participate in the OpenRoaming™ network through Web3 is effective and has attracted the attention of a large number of traditional telecom operators. Of course, while gaining the attention of traditional industries, it has also gained the favor and support of investment institutions. At the end of 2023, Roam completed a strategic round of financing of US$5 million, led by Anagram and Volt Capital, with participation from Comma 3 Ventures, ECMC Group and others. Angel round participants Synergis and SNZ continued to follow up in the strategic round. In April 2024, Roam received investment from Samsung Next, which was the only investment made by the agency after DePIN became a phenomenal track last year.
Since the beginning of December, the number of Roam hardware nodes has continued to rank first on the data analysis website DePINscan, and now the number of nodes has exceeded 1 million. In less than a year, Roam has achieved more than one million users and nodes. Looking back on this year, Roam has been fulfilling its original promise step by step through each product launch and update - to promote the OpenRoaming™ network to the world, build an open global wireless network, and achieve seamless global WiFi connection. In this way, step by step, Roam and 1.7 million users have brought safe and convenient WiFi networks to more than 190 countries and regions around the world. It can be seen that steady and steady is the fastest rhythm. Now, the 2025 roadmap has been released, and we will wait and see what outstanding performance Roam will bring next.