9/5 Joint Comments Opposing NextNav’s Proposal to Reallocate Most of the Unlicensed 900 MHz Band

The Open Technology Institute at New America, Public Knowledge, Consumer Reports, Next Century Cities, Schools Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, and the Digital Progress Institute filed joint comments at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding NextNav Inc. (NextNav)’s April 2024 petition for rulemaking.

In seeking to facilitate a complement and back-up to the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), NextNav essentially proposes the reallocation of 15 MHz of the shared 902-928 MHz band (Lower 900 MHz band)—currently the only low-band spectrum available for unlicensed use—for a single, nationwide, and exclusive flexible-use license, which it would receive in exchange for the 14 MHz of very low-power, limited-purpose, shared, impaired, and heavily encumbered licenses it currently holds in the band.

Our groups strongly oppose NextNav’s proposal, which would, in effect:

• Reorganize the shared Lower 900 MHz band, which tens of millions of consumers, businesses, schools, and government services currently rely on to connect hundreds of millions of devices for home, business, and smart city applications.
• Reallocate 60 percent of the spectrum currently available for open and cost-free device connectivity to an entirely different service (i.e., mobile 5G).
• Assign NextNav itself the exclusive rights to 15 MHz of full-power, flexible-use spectrum.
• Condense all other incumbent users of the band—both licensed Location Monitoring Services (LMS) and unlicensed devices—into the remaining 11 MHz, which could lead millions of devices to malfunction or become worthless.
• Rewrite the FCC’s rules for the band, which would entail eliminating the existing testing requirement and safe harbor that has applied to the unlicensed operation of Part 15 devices across the entirety of the Lower 900 MHz band.

In these comments in opposition, we make three key points:

• NextNav’s proposal contradicts the FCC’s rules and long-standing policy to promote coexistence, consumer welfare, and innovation in the Lower 900 MHz band.
• In proposing to reallocate 15 MHz of spectrum from unlicensed to exclusive use for full power mobile 5G, NextNav’s proposal would harm consumers and stall connected device innovation by disrupting or crowding out the important and diverse users and use cases currently relying on the band.
• In proposing to exchange 14 MHz of very low-power, limited-purpose, shared, impaired, and heavily encumbered licenses for 15 MHz of full-power, flexible-use spectrum reallocated to an entirely different (mobile 5G) service, NextNav is seeking an unjustified windfall that only Congress has authority to grant.