NextNav proposes a GPS complement and backup in the lower 900 MHz band

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A year after NextNav shared a new vision for the Lower 900 MHz band, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) collected additional comments seeking to bolster positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) resilience by exploring terrestrial and space-based technologies, including NextNav’s, that could complement and back up GPS. The FCC’s PNT Notice of Inquiry (NOI) is a level set on PNT issues, and seeks to engage stakeholders across government and industry to advance a “whole-of-government approach” to building resiliency to safeguard America’s critical infrastructure, national security and public safety.

We caught up with NextNav’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Renee Gregory, to hear more about how the company is thinking about a terrestrial complement and backup to GPS. Its technology is one of the solutions being discussed within the FCC and the broader industry.

Why is it important to create a complement and backup to GPS? 

Renee Gregory: GPS is an incredible technology that underpins national security, public safety and American commerce. However, GPS signals have physical limitations indoors and in urban canyons (i.e. big cities), plus the signals are vulnerable to intentional spoofing, jamming and unintentional interference. With GPS contributing more than $1 trillion to the U.S. economy since its inception, and a potential outage costing $1.6 billion per day, relying on a single system leaves us exposed. As Rear Admiral USN (ret.) David Simpson recently wrote, “If GPS goes down, critical infrastructure fails and our nation plunges into chaos.”

What is the Federal Government doing about the problem?

Gregory: Leaders, from President Donald Trump to Chairman Ted Cruz and Senator Ed Markey, have all advocated for the government to take action to ensure that a resilient PNT system of systems is in place. During President Trump’s first term, he signed an Executive Order establishing a comprehensive national policy to promote the responsible use of PNT services to strengthen critical infrastructure resilience. Earlier this year, the FCC adopted a NOI to promote the development of PNT technologies and solutions. It marked an important acknowledgment by the FCC of the seriousness of GPS vulnerabilities and limitations. It also reinforced the need for a system-of-systems approach that includes terrestrial PNT.

What should our readers know about the NOI?

Gregory: NextNav fully supports the FCC’s focus on resilient PNT. The FCC’s stated goal in the NOI is to build a record on specific actions the FCC can take to incentivize and support industry efforts to develop resilient and secure PNT technologies and solutions. The FCC intends to focus its efforts on utilizing its authority over non-Federal use of spectrum to rapidly support PNT solutions that could serve as complements or backups to GPS. NextNav has urged the FCC to enable at least one future-proof option that relies on market forces to deliver a terrestrial, wide-scale PNT solution that is broadly available to critical infrastructure, public safety, and consumers, and has a clear path to incorporation in consumer devices, like the smartphones we all use every day.

What is the solution NextNav is proposing?

Gregory: NextNav has a proven track record of providing accurate, reliable vertical location information to support first responders. Building on that legacy, NextNav’s next-generation 5G-based 3D PNT solution will leverage preexisting 5G networks and network capabilities, as well as the established and vibrant 5G device ecosystem, to enable a broadly available, widescale terrestrial complement and backup to GPS in partnership with one or more mobile network operators with experience in deploying newly-available spectrum and services within a relatively short period of time. This partnership model will rely on market forces and not taxpayer funding. NextNav brings not only its expertise in PNT technology but also its extensive spectrum licenses in the Lower 900 MHz band to address the critical need for resilient PNT.

What are other technologies under consideration in the NOI?

Gregory: The FCC is considering a range of terrestrial and space-based technologies as part of a system-of-systems approach to resilient PNT. Because different technologies and deployment models bring different strengths — and different weaknesses — truly resilient PNT requires multiple layers of redundancy and both space and terrestrial-based technologies. There is no single solution. We need an all-of-the-above approach.

Is NextNav trying to replace GPS? 

Gregory: No. NextNav’s efforts to develop a complement and backup to GPS will not diminish the role of GPS, which will remain vital to national and economic security.

Is NextNav asking for new spectrum to enable its terrestrial PNT solution?

Gregory: Some opponents have suggested that NextNav is asking the FCC to give it 15 megahertz of spectrum, but that’s simply not true. After acquiring extensive spectrum licenses at auction and in the secondary market, NextNav is the largest licensee in the lower 900 MHz band and is one of only two active geographic license holders in that band, which is today dedicated to terrestrial positioning services. In 2024, NextNav reached a commercial agreement to acquire the remainder of the licenses from the only other active geographic licensee in the band.

NextNav is suggesting a reconfiguration of the existing licensing scheme to ensure that the lower 900 MHz band can support next-generation 5G-based 3D PNT solutions that require multiple 5 MHz blocks of spectrum, for a total of one more megahertz than the amount of spectrum currently dedicated for geographically-licensed terrestrial positioning services. To enable this band configuration, and the availability of a terrestrial PNT complement and backup, NextNav has proposed a “swap” in which NextNav will return all its current and pending license holdings in exchange for a 15 MHz nationwide license, consistent with the technical characteristics of 5G networks.

How much does this plan cost?

Gregory: The market-based NextNav solution will not require any taxpayer funding or legislation.

What about those opposed to NextNav’s proposal? 

Gregory: NextNav is focused on solving an urgent national security problem by enabling a complement and backup to GPS to advance resilient PNT. While some parties have raised objections based on claims of interference to current uses of the Lower 900 MHz band, they have not provided detailed technical analyses to support their claims that NextNav would interfere with their operations, or offered solutions beyond suggesting that the FCC reject NextNav’s proposal. Simply opposing one proposal without offering credible, fact-based solutions undermines the FCC’s goal of building a resilient, system-of-systems approach. 

As a leader in PNT innovation, NextNav is looking forward to working closely with the Chairman, Commissioners and broader stakeholder community to accelerate the deployment of resilient PNT, building important redundancies into a system we rely on every day.