NextNav Urges FCC to Advance Rulemaking on 5G-Based GPS Backup

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2025 – NextNav has urged the Federal Communications Commission to move quickly on its petition to authorize 5G-based positioning, navigation, and timing services in the lower 900 MegaHertz (MHz) band. 

The company argued that the United States was overdue for a resilient complement to GPS, or global positioning service. In particular, it seeks one that works indoors, where satellite signals routinely fail and where the lack of reliable location information has contributed to firefighter deaths.

But a coalition representing the top fire, law enforcement, and emergency communications groups has pushed back, warning that the proposal could destabilize life safety systems that millions of Americans rely on today.

In a November 24 filing to the FCC, NextNav laid out its vision for “a near-term, future-proof” PNT system capable of delivering wide area 3D location information without relying on GPS. NextNav urged the FCC to advance a rulemaking.

Public safety agencies today face “vulnerabilities that are not theoretical,” NextNav wrote in its filing, citing incidents where GPS only tracking failed inside multi-story structures.

The company pointed to a First Responder Indoor Tracking Summit held in Fairfax County, Va. on Nov. 19, local fire chiefs who deal directly with the operational limits of GPS offered forceful support.

Multiple departments said a terrestrial PNT complement “cannot let perfection be the enemy of good” and should not be delayed by debates over unlicensed devices in the band.

Meeting with FCC staff, Springfield, Ohio, Fire Chief Jacob King said existing indoor location gaps “puts lives at risk every single day.” In an ex parte filing, he called a terrestrial PNT complement the most critical missing capability in modern fire operations.

“When my crews enter a multi-story structure, I need to know not just that they’re in the building, but what floor they’re on and where they are on that floor,” King wrote.

He added that alternative PNT proposals “are either limited to outdoor vehicular navigation, require extensive local infrastructure, or depend on technologies that simply aren’t past the conceptual stage.”

King also dismissed interference concerns raised by the security hardware industry and other incumbents, saying that life saving applications should rely on licensed systems rather than unlicensed equipment operating at 900 MHz.

But NextNav's view was not universal

In a joint letter filed Nov. 13, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, APCO International, and the National Sheriffs’ Association urged the FCC to reject NextNav’s petition outright. 

The groups warned that unlicensed devices currently in the 902–928 MHz band form the backbone of numerous critical life safety systems, and that altering the band for 5G-based PNT risks undermining them.

Citing an engineering review by Pericle Communications, the associations argued that 5G signals could interfere with devices that provide the location and other pertinent life-safety data of first responders, as well as respiratory monitoring equipment, wildfire sensors, emergency-vehicle traffic preemption tools, remote gas and electric shutoff systems, and even home smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. 

“Many unlicensed life-safety devices may experience reduced functionality or operational limitations that place first responders and the public at risk,” the groups wrote.

They further contend that NextNav has not offered credible mitigation measures, and that the record demonstrates “significant negative consequences for public safety” if the Lower 900 MHz band is restructured.

NextNav sharply criticized the engineering report circulated by opponents, saying the analysis rests on “fundamental methodological errors,” fails to accurately model 5G emissions, and cannot be reproduced in real world conditions.

NextNav’s argument rests on two pillars: national security and public safety. The White House, Congress, and the Department of Transportation have all identified the need for a GPS backup, the company wrote on Nov. 12. 

DOT has already ranked NextNav’s technology first in prior PNT evaluations. The company further notes that it received the largest federal award for 2024 PNT field testing. Evidence, it says, that its technology was the most mature option on the table.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has so far signaled support for exploring terrestrial alternatives to GPS. The FCC opened an inquiry into the matter in March, part of the agency’s effort to address national security concerns.