NBA champion Tristan Thompson and World Mobile have launched the community-owned Uplift Network

NBA champion Tristan Thompson announced at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 that he has partnered with global telecommunications company World Mobile to launch a community-owned mobile network called Uplift. The network offers unlimited data plans starting at $9.99 per month.

Uplift is built on blockchain technology and the Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN).

With Uplift, each subscription will contribute to expanding the network at the neighborhood level, while local hosts known as “AirNode Operators” will earn a portion of the network revenue by providing community coverage. The idea behind Uplift is to challenge the centralized model of the $2 trillion telecom industry by allowing users and local operators to share in the value they create.

“For me, it’s about how do we help people who have lived the same lives that I’ve lived, and I think for us what we’re doing is providing connectivity and connectivity for unlimited data at a lower cost,” Thompson said on stage. “It’s like, how can I help my community have a better tomorrow? And that’s what it’s about. And I’ve been very fortunate and blessed to have a team that understands that vision. And we want to help people in America, help the inner city, and just give people hope.”

While Thompson is known for his basketball career and winning an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he is also an outspoken advocate for innovation and inclusion. Thompson currently holds four executive positions across the Web3 and fintech landscape. He’s CEO of digital equity at World Mobile and chief advisory officer at AxonDAO, an AI-powered medical research platform inspired by his brother’s journey with epilepsy.

He is also the co-founder of Basketball Fun, a web3 platform that codes for NBA players, and is the chief content officer at Tracy AI, a real-time sports analytics AI platform.

With this latest endeavor, Thompson and World Mobile are looking to enhance affordable community-owned internet access.

World Mobile says this is a tested and scalable model, which it piloted in Reno, Nevada, where community hosts earned more than $10,000 a year by providing coverage to underserved areas. World Mobile says Uplift operates on infrastructure already proven through World Mobile’s U.S. deployments.

“We’ve brought about 20% of Reno back online,” Thompson said. “When the hurricane happened in North Carolina and Asheville, Starlink went out there and tried to provide connectivity, but they couldn’t, 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, and we were actually the ones who restored connectivity to Asheville, North Carolina, during that hurricane.”

The new service will begin rolling out in Cleveland, Ohio, soon and will launch in additional cities in 2026.

World Mobile reports that more than 50 million Americans live at or near the poverty line, many of whom lack access to affordable high-speed data. Uplift aims to expand reach while ensuring the wealth created by mobile use stays in the neighborhoods it creates.