NextNav has announced the successful completion of lab and field demonstrations of its Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) solution based on Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) standards in 5G waveforms.
With 5G and PRS standards already in place, this validates that NextNav PNT technology solutions can enable a widescale commercial 5G-based PNT solution that provides a resilient terrestrial complement and backup to traditional GPS signals.
The demonstrations culminated in successful field tests using a prototype network operating on NextNav’s existing spectrum in Palo Alto, California. These tests validated the effectiveness of NextNav’s 5G PRS-based PNT solution, demonstrating precise timing synchronization and robust positioning capabilities, establishing a foundation for widespread commercial deployment.
“This is a major milestone towards building a terrestrial complement and backup to GPS built on the back of a global standard.” said NextNav Co-Founder and CTO, Arun Raghupathy. “By leveraging a PRS-based network, NextNav is proving that it is able to develop scalable 3D PNT capabilities built with 5G technology using standards compliant PRS signals.”
NextNav’s technology provides an approach to scaling resilient PNT solutions. The company seeks to build a widescale terrestrial PNT solution working with 5G infrastructure and device providers. By demonstrating that PRS can fulfill this requirement, NextNav moves closer to the vision outlined in its rulemaking petition before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In its petition, NextNav proposed that the FCC reconfigure the Lower 900 MHz band to enable a 5G-based terrestrial 3D PNT as both a complement and backup to GPS while also supporting 5G broadband deployment and use.
Few challenges are more pressing than integrating greater resiliency into critical terrestrial PNT technologies while simultaneously freeing up more spectrum for 5G broadband.
