NextNav (Nasdaq: NN) has submitted a comprehensive study to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) confirming that 5G operations can successfully coexist with unlicensed devices in the Lower 900 MHz band. The study provides a real-world deployment comparison and in-depth technical assessments that find coexistence is feasible and replacement of legacy operations in the band with 5G would not cause unacceptable interference to Part 15 devices.

“From the outset, NextNav has been committed to ensuring this proceeding is guided by sound, fact-based, and engineering-driven decisions,” said Dr. John Kim, Vice President of Technology Development. “That commitment shaped our detailed examination of how current unlicensed devices operate in the band. Our findings demonstrate that by updating decades-old rules, the FCC can address a major national security and public safety threat without causing unacceptable interference to unlicensed devices.”

Key Findings Include: 

• 5G Does Not Materially Change the Emissions Landscape in the 902-928 MHz Band: The 66-page study confirms that unlicensed devices, which already coexist with other unlicensed operations along with licensed services in the Lower 900 MHz band, can continue to do so under the FCC’s adoption of NextNav’s 5G PNT proposal.

• No unacceptable interference with unlicensed devices. The study found that in the San Francisco downtown area 5G would produce lower emissions than NextNav’s already authorized legacy M-LMS location service. It also found that the Lower 900 MHz band is dominated by intra- and inter-Part 15 contention, and 5G’s contribution is negligible in comparison.

• Indoor signal strength confirms minimal impact from 5G deployment: Analysis shows that unlicensed signals indoors are significantly stronger than 5G operations in nearly all locations. The incremental effect of 5G indoor operations will be well within the capacity of unlicensed devices to manage.

Dr. Kim and his coauthors analyzed five key unlicensed technologies: LoRaWAN, RAIN RFID, Wi-Fi HaLow, Wi-SUN, and Z-Wave. Designed to operate in a complex shared spectrum environment, these Part 15 devices are built with resilience and adaptability at their core, enabling coexistence with NextNav’s proposal for terrestrial PNT powered by 5G.

“The Lower 900 MHz band is a spectrum band that was designed to be shared,” said Renee Gregory, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. “NextNav’s proposed technical rules support coexistence with a variety of users while enabling terrestrial PNT as part of a system-of-systems approach to complement and back up GPS.”

Additionally, NextNav announced that it has retained a testing firm to conduct joint testing with Lower 900 MHz railroad licensees. The company is also in discussions with toll operators to evaluate coexistence scenarios through joint testing. Finally, NextNav retained independent firms to conduct engineering studies to ensure that all primary Federal systems in the band remain protected from harmful interference. These announcements reinforce NextNav’s commitment to protecting co-primary licensed tolling, rail operations, as well as Federal systems in the band. 

A copy of the study filed with the FCC is available here.