NextNav moves toward commercializing its 5G cellular PNT solution

NextNav Inc. has successfully advanced its NextGen PNT solution commercialization path operating on standard 5G network equipment. The development represents a major milestone toward a widescale commercial 5G-powered 3D PNT solution. The company is showcasing its solution this week at Mobile World Congress in Las Vegas, booth #96.

“This latest achievement highlights the seamless integration of NextNav’s technology and 5G, reinforcing the scalability and practicality of a resilient terrestrial complement to GPS,” said Sidd Chenumolu, chief business development officer. “We have proven the technology with standard 5G equipment and look forward to the opportunity to completing the final steps to commercialization.”

NextNav completed demonstrations using Lekha Wireless Solutions 5G base stations with positioning reference signals (PRS) enabled. The partnership with Lekha Wireless Solutions, a commercial 5G infrastructure equipment supplier, brings PNT capabilities in the NextNav spectrum band.

The demonstration delivered accurate timing and positioning information via PRS transmissions while simultaneously delivering both downlink and uplink data transmissions. These capabilities align tightly with NextNav’s broader solution of utilizing standards-based 5G PRS in lower 900 MHz band spectrum for terrestrial PNT and combining it with barometric pressure sensors for vertical accuracy.

“Demonstrating these capabilities on commercial 5G equipment is a critical step towards integrating this solution into networks, a hallmark of NextNav’s 3D PNT architecture,” said NextNav Co-Founder and CTO Arun Raghupathy. “It shows that our PNT solution can be deployed efficiently using existing 5G equipment, delivering accurate timing and positioning information along with simultaneous 5G data.”

At MWC Las Vegas, NextNav will showcase these developments as well as an interactive demonstration of the company’s Pinnacle technology, highlighting how vertical location transforms government, public safety, and commercial applications.