On April 16, NextNav shared a new vision for the Lower 900 MHz band of spectrum with the Federal Communications Commission. This proposal reconfigures this section of airwaves to unleash spectrum for two essential uses: 5G broadband and a critical terrestrial PNT solution to back up and complement GPS.
The FCC recently issued a public notice seeking comment on our petition. This is a standard but significant next step in the longer-term FCC rulemaking process, and we appreciate the FCC’s action as we push to deliver an innovative spectrum solution in the Lower 900 MHz band.
NextNav CEO Mariam Sorond has been getting inquiries from various stakeholders about the petition, so here are answers to the most frequently asked questions.
Why is it important to create a complement and backup to GPS?
Mariam Sorond: GPS is an incredible technology that profoundly impacts society and our day-to-day lives and powers much of our nation’s critical infrastructure. Today, we rely on GPS for electricity/power grids, telecommunications, public safety, banking, maps, and so much more. GPS has coverage limitations indoors and in urban canyons and is vulnerable to interference such as spoofing and jamming. Given the coverage limitations and vulnerabilities that GPS has as a space-based service, NextNav’s NextGen solution is a terrestrial 3D PNT complement and backup to GPS.
Are GPS signals vulnerable?
Sorond: A recent New York Times headline asked the right question – “One Satellite Signal Rules Modern Life. What if Someone Knocks It Out?” GPS is a single-source, space-based system and is vulnerable to all kinds of threats – from solar flares to man-made threats from our adversaries. This could mean either jamming signals (broadcasting a stronger signal to obscure a target) or spoofing them (transmitting false data), which could easily become a national security and public safety issue. Signals from GPS satellites are essential to powering the global economy – including our nation’s public safety, 911 services and financial transactions.
Is NextNav trying to replace GPS?
Sorond: No. Given the importance of GPS, a backup is necessary. NextNav seeks to create a terrestrial 3D PNT backup to GPS if there ever were interference, but also a complement to provide greater accuracy indoors (including providing vertical location) and in urban areas, where GPS has coverage limitations.
What is the solution NextNav is proposing?
Sorond: Spectrum – or the airwaves all around us that allow us to make wireless calls, listen to the radio, utilize WiFi, and pull up GPS on our mobile devices – is a key part of NextNav’s innovative proposal. To offer a complement and backup to space-based GPS, NextNav proposes using spectrum to carry critical PNT technology. NextNav proposes rearranging the Lower 900 MHz band to enable its use for a terrestrial 3D PNT backup and complement to GPS, as well as 5G broadband. This solution offers myriad public benefits that will help mitigate the risks to the country, unleash commercial opportunities, and help public safety by providing 3D location information and situational awareness indoors and in multi-story buildings.
NextNav filed this plan at the FCC in April, and we shared additional technical details on June 10.
Spectrum is a finite resource. How would this proposal make good use of this resource?
Sorond: “Low-band” spectrum, or spectrum below 1 GHz, is scarce and desirable because it penetrates walls and propagates over long distances, so it is the most efficient way to provide coverage inside buildings and urban canyons – and why it is perfect for our 5G-based PNT service and ideal for services requiring wide scale. In our proposal, the Lower 900 MHz band would be reconfigured to allow for PNT service while appropriately protecting incumbent users – and also unleash 15 MHz of additional spectrum for 5G broadband.
How much does this plan cost?
Sorond: The new plan doesn’t require any taxpayer dollars or legislation.
What are the next steps to making this happen?
Sorond: The FCC has requested comments from the public. The Commission then considers the comments and reply comments in developing proposed rules.
NextNav just won an award from the U.S. Department of Transportation to conduct field tests of its 3D PNT technologies. How does that relate to this?
Sorond: We are pleased to engage with the U.S. DOT on this project to conduct real-world field tests of NextNav’s 3D PNT technology. This award allows us to demonstrate how NextNav’s PNT technology meets critical infrastructure needs when GPS service is unavailable due to disruptions. In 2021, the DOT recognized NextNav’s technology as the best-performing PNT technology in “all applicable use cases.”