October 30, 2025
“Uplift is about taking power back from Big Wireless and putting it in the hands of the people.”
NBA veteran Tristan Thompson, who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, has partnered with World Mobile to introduce Uplift, a community-owned mobile service that allows users to own part of their network.
Thompson, who is the company’s chief digital equity officer, spoke at the most recent TechCrunch Disrupt Summit in San Francisco.
“Uplift is about taking power back from Big Wireless and putting it in the hands of the people,” said Thompson in a written statement. “Every plan purchased strengthens the community it comes from. That is what equitable connectivity really means.”
The company, which offers unlimited data plans starting at $9.99 per month, also allows users to become AirNode operators. As operators, they earn a portion of the revenue made within the network by providing community coverage. Every subscription contributes to neighborhood-level network expansion.
Uplift will launch initially in Cleveland, where Thompson played his first NBA game and was selected as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. Local entrepreneurs and small businesses will host the initial wave of community-operated nodes. Other cities will be included in 2026 as the program grows.
“Telecom has reached a breaking point,” said Micky Watkins, CEO of World Mobile Group. “For decades, connectivity has enriched corporations while leaving billions disconnected. Uplift, a Tristan initiative, proves there is a better way—one where access, ownership, and rewards are shared.”
The network is built on blockchain technology and a Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN).
Thompson has taken steps as a tech businessman by becoming a co-founder of Basketball.fun (an on-chain experience that tokenizes player value in real time), Chief Advisory Officer at AxonDAO (an AI-powered medical research platform inspired by his brother’s journey with epilepsy), and Chief Content Officer at TracyAI (a sports analytics platform).
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