FCC Order Enables NextNav to Commence Commercial Operations

Photo: NextNav

On June 6, the FCC, following a unanimous vote of the commission, issued an order enabling NextNav, LLC to begin commercial operation of its advanced positioning network, which is designed to support 911 emergency first responders.  NextNav is deploying its nationwide network using Part 90 Multilateration Location and Monitoring Service licenses that are held by its affiliate, Progeny LMS, LLC. NextNav has been operating a fully-deployed location network for trial, testing and other non-commercial purposes in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than three years.

“We are pleased that the Commission has unanimously approved our ability to enter into commercial service,” said Gary Parsons, CEO of NextNav. “The commission conducted an extremely thoughtful review of the technical characteristics of our innovative system, and this order will allow us to offer location services that have the potential to significantly enhance 911 and public safety applications.”

NextNav’s high-performance terrestrial positioning network is designed to complement GPS in urban areas and inside structures, places where GPS is significantly degraded or denied due to blockage of the fainter, satellite-based GPS signal. The FCC-chartered Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council Working Group III found that NextNav’s system delivered 90 percent smaller search rings then existing technologies in challenging indoor urban environments, and was the only technology tested capable of providing floor-level height accuracy.

The operation of this system is significantly enhanced by its use of Part 90 M-LMS spectrum licenses, which are designated for the location of mobile devices.  The spectrum licenses used by NextNav cover nearly all major U.S. urban centers and over 93 percent of the U.S. population.