WiFi nodes exceed one million, Roam releases "2025 Roadmap"

Open the Roam App on your phone, click "Check-In," and receive "Roam Points" or "eSIM Data." Check-in successful.

This is something Roam users persistently do every day—sharing WiFi nodes and checking in. From the first registered user to now, Roam has over 1.7 million registered users worldwide, spanning more than 190 countries and regions. It is this continuously growing user base that has brought the first million Roam network nodes.

From 1 to 1 million, what has Roam accomplished along the way? At the beginning of the project in 2021, Roam established a Web3 working group within the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), opening the door to integrating decentralized identity (DID) and verifiable credentials (VC) under the OpenRoaming™ framework. This was an important step in creating secure and seamless connections for global users.

On the product side, with the support of OpenRoaming™ and blockchain technology, Roam has consistently innovated its products: at the beginning of the year, the Rainier MAX60 officially replaced the MetaBlox OG miner as Roam's second-generation WiFi router miner, and the Baker MAX30 AP miner launched in the second half of the year further enriched Roam's product architecture. Following that, the launch of Roam eSIM was well-received in the market, quickly pushing Roam's registered user count to over a million nodes. It is evident that Roam has taken solid steps at every turn, and this is just the beginning.

2025 Roadmap Released, Roam Ecosystem Market Becomes Richer

On December 14, Roam released its "2025 Roadmap," covering 11 updates across three major modules: products, technology, and community ecosystem.

In 2025, Roam will introduce four major product updates: Roam Loan will officially launch in Q1, and through a formal partnership with Huma Finance, "Buy Now, Pay Never" will no longer be just a slogan. Users can purchase and use routers to participate in Roam's network construction with a low threshold, and the loan portion will be directly deducted from mining profits, with mining rewards belonging to users after the loan is settled. In Q2, Roam Growth will see significant updates, with the release of the Growth product service framework, while existing Roam Growth products will undergo a complete upgrade to include more diverse sustainable income projects for users. During the second half of the year, product updates will focus more on the Roam App and the developer platform Roam Innovator Hub. The new Roam App 2.0 version will launch, further enriching user participation and interaction. In the concluding fourth quarter, Roam will launch the Innovator Hub, an innovative platform that will provide more developers with API and SDK tools and grant support, encouraging developers to contribute to ecosystem co-construction.

On the technology front, Roam will also have four major updates next year: in the first half, 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 be updated, and more new WiFi mining devices will be released, including devices from qualified third-party partners and community-supported OpenRoaming™ mining devices; by the end of next year, Roam will complete the full integration of WiFi and cellular data networks, achieving true seamless roaming between the two major wireless broadband sectors.

As another important component of Roam's vision for a global open wireless network, Roam eSIM will launch a long-term version in Q1 next year, with no expiration date, no binding, and no monthly fees. Roam's global eSIM cellular data network will provide users with more convenient connections. Additionally, in terms of community and ecosystem, Roam Discovery will gradually go live in the first half of next year, with main products including Discovery Pool, Discovery IMPACT, and Discovery Incubator Program. In the second half of the year, DAO community governance will launch, allowing users to actively participate in community building through a decentralized decision-making mechanism.

From the roadmap, it is clear that in the first half of next year, as new products are rolled out, 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 successively. From how to purchase hardware devices with a low threshold to how to turn those devices into powerful economic tools to create sustainable income, Loan and Growth provide users with a product experience that progresses from entry-level to advanced. In Discovery, through the three modules of Pool, IMPACT, and Incubator Program, excellent peers and investors will be attracted to join, providing a platform for peers, investors, and developers to exchange ideas, build consensus, and promote innovative concepts and project implementation based on Roam's innovative location-based technology and resources like API and SDK toolkits. The launch of Roam's long-term eSIM and the new version of the Roam App will provide users with more seamless connection experiences and traffic rewards. In summary, next year, the Roam ecosystem will become richer, and the scenarios in which users can participate will greatly increase.

Steady Progress is the Fastest Pace

When Roam was established in 2021, the original intention was to address the pain points encountered by the WBA in promoting the OpenRoaming™ program globally. It has been proven that Roam's approach of encouraging community and user participation in the OpenRoaming™ network through Web3 is effective and has garnered significant attention from traditional telecom operators. Of course, alongside gaining the attention of traditional industries, it has also attracted the favor and support of investment institutions. By the end of 2023, Roam completed a $5 million strategic round of financing, led by Anagram and Volt Capital, with participation from Comma3 Ventures, ECMC Group, and others. Angel round participants Synergis and SNZ continued to invest in the strategic round. In April 2024, Roam received investment from Samsung Next, marking the only investment from the institution since DePIN became a phenomenal track last year.

Since early December, the number of Roam hardware nodes has consistently ranked first on the data analysis site DePINscan, and the current node count has surpassed 1 million. In less than a year, Roam has achieved over a million in both user count and node count. Looking back over the year, Roam has been steadily fulfilling its initial promise—promoting the OpenRoaming™ network globally and building an open global wireless network to achieve seamless global WiFi connectivity. Step by step, Roam, together with 1.7 million users, has brought a secure and convenient WiFi network to over 190 countries and regions worldwide. It is clear that steady progress is the fastest pace. Now that the 2025 roadmap has been released, we look forward to seeing what impressive performances Roam will bring next.