The sudden loss of GPS would paralyze both your daily routine and today’s interconnected world. Navigation apps would fail, disrupting commutes and logistics, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. An outage of any Global Navigation Satellite System, including the United States' GPS or Europe's Galileo, could jeopardize global security and public safety on a massive scale.
Accurate positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) supports trillions of dollars of critical infrastructure, including electricity grids, telecommunications networks, public safety operations, and financial systems. These scenarios might seem like apocalyptic hypotheticals, but our daily dependence on GPS has created real-world vulnerabilities. Incidents of spoofing and jamming of space-based PNT systems are on the rise, and these weaknesses are being actively exploited.
The New York Times highlighted how GPS disruptions have been weaponized in conflict zones, such as Ukraine, and during tensions in the Middle East. Beyond conflict zones, spoofing—where GPS signals are faked to mislead devices—and jamming – where signals are blocked entirely, have disrupted commercial shipping routes and aviation systems throughout Europe.
On any given day, civilian industries throughout Europe feel the effects. Finnish farmers, Norwegian pilots, and other countries bordering Russia, like Estonia, are ground zero for this emerging threat.
What is the potential cost of these disruptions?
The Brattle Group’s recent economic report quantifies the risks posed by a sustained GPS outage here at home. A one-day GPS outage could cost the American economy $1.6 billion in daily economic losses. If the outage extended to an entire month, it would total $58.2 billion in economic losses. Telecommunications, transportation, and emergency services would face unprecedented challenges, and the global implications could be even more damaging.
Since 2004, every American president’s administration has recognized the problem. There is a consensus that we must build a system-of-systems approach for PNT resilience to back up GPS. This includes space- and ground-based options.
Many innovative solutions are being worked on to tackle this complex problem, including the use of unlicensed, licensed wireless, broadcast and satellite spectrum. In space, the U.S. Space Force is upgrading and augmenting existing GPS infrastructure to be more resistant to attacks and jamming. On the ground, there are multiple organizations—including a variety of both commercial and academic players—each tackling some or multiple aspects of PNT. All of these are part of the solution including NextNav 5G-based terrestrial 3D PNT, to ensure the U.S.—the inventor of GPS—does not fall further behind our adversaries in building critical resiliency.
NextNav has added its voice to the growing chorus of government officials and private sector stakeholders about the urgent national security need to solve this challenge. Issuing a call to action at MWC Las Vegas 2024, we highlighted our innovative spectrum solution to address the terrestrial component of this national security threat and called on the industry to help us solve this threat to our nation.
In 2024, NextNav filed petition for rulemaking with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reconfigure the Lower 900 MHz band. The proposal aims to enable a terrestrial 3D PNT network to complement and back up GPS while also unleashing 15 MHz of low-band spectrum for 5G broadband at no cost to taxpayers. Specifically, the system will leverage partners’ 5G infrastructure to enable widescale terrestrial PNT to be available in consumer devices like smartphones. This system will complement GPS by being available indoors and in urban canyons where GPS has limitations. Terrestrial PNT also exhibits greater resiliency against jamming/spoofing, with signals 100,000x stronger than GPS.
At a time when spectrum is scarce, we have a solution to prioritize national security and public safety and free up spectrum for 5G. It’s a win for Americans and the US economy.
While a GPS complement and backup is crucial for the United States, countries across the globe have similar vulnerabilities, and the solutions require international collaboration.
The European Union (EU) recognizes this and is in the process of exploring alternatives to European GNSS in order to build a complementary PNT Ecosystem. The EU’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), on behalf of the Directorate-General for Defense Industry and Space, conducted a test campaign in 2023 to assess the performance of alternative PNT technologies. This process is ongoing, and like the US, the JRC recognizes that this effort is “pivotal in strengthening EU autonomy, bolstering the resilience of the economy, and advancing the EU’s global standing through technological development.”
So, what does this all mean for us today?
The threats to GPS are immediate and escalating, with mounting risks to critical infrastructure, economies, and public safety. NextNav's solution represents a critical advance toward a system of systems that includes a terrestrial complement and backup to GPS. As global incidents rise and the possibility of economic impacts increases, the imperative for action is clear.
The United States has the opportunity to enable terrestrial PNT technology to back up and complement GPS while making more spectrum available for 5G broadband, at no cost to taxpayers. Through innovation and leadership across the wireless industry, we can create a more secure PNT infrastructure that is ready to withstand disruption.