NextNav and RFID Industry Clash Over Future of U.S. 900 MHz Band
NextNav and RFID Industry Clash Over Future of U.S. 900 MHz Band
A newly formed U.S. advocacy coalition is urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the U.S. government agency responsible for regulating radio spectrum and wireless communications, to reject NextNav’s proposed restructuring of the 902–928 MHz band. The dispute could directly affect UHF RFID and other established wireless applications.
The conflict over the future of the 902–928 MHz band in the United States has entered a new phase.
On September 16, 2026, several major U.S. industry associations formed the SpecTech Alliance, an advocacy coalition created specifically to coordinate opposition to NextNav’s Lower 900 MHz proposal before the FCC.
Its founding members represent aviation, trucking and logistics, retail, consumer electronics, RFID, security and connected technologies. They include Airlines for America, American Trucking Associations, the Consumer Technology Association, National Retail Federation, RAIN Alliance, Retail Industry Leaders Association and Security Industry Association.
The alliance argues that the band already supports a broad ecosystem of commercial and industrial applications and that introducing higher-power 5G services could create interference risks and additional costs for existing users.
Why NextNav Wants the Spectrum
NextNav is a U.S. geolocation technology company developing terrestrial Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) systems designed to complement and back up satellite-based GPS.
The company wants the FCC to restructure parts of the Lower 900 MHz band to enable higher-power 5G operation. Its goal is to build a nationwide terrestrial 5G PNT network that could continue providing positioning and timing when GPS signals are unavailable, obstructed, jammed or spoofed.
NextNav says existing wireless technologies, including UHF RFID, could continue operating alongside the new network.
The RFID industry remains unconvinced.
Why UHF RFID Is Directly Affected
The 902–928 MHz band is the main frequency range used for UHF RAIN RFID in the United States.
RFID systems in retail, logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, aviation and asset tracking already rely on this spectrum.
Passive UHF RFID tags have no battery and return only a very weak signal to the reader. Industry organizations therefore warn that significantly stronger 5G transmissions in the same radio environment could reduce read range, increase missed reads or affect reliability.
The concern is particularly relevant in dense RFID deployments containing multiple readers, many antennas and thousands of tags.
NextNav Says Coexistence Works
In May 2026, NextNav conducted a coexistence demonstration in San Jose, California.
A live 5G PNT base station operated alongside a standard UHF RFID reader and several tags. According to NextNav, the RFID system continued to function even when exposed to 5G signal levels above those expected during typical operation.
NextNav says the test supports its engineering studies and demonstrates that 5G PNT and RFID can coexist.
The company has also continued developing the underlying technology. In September 2026, it reported single-digit-meter positioning accuracy from an operational 5G PNT network in Santa Clara County, including indoor testing.
RFID Organizations Challenge the Test
RAIN Alliance, AIM Global and GS1 US dispute NextNav’s conclusion.
They argue that a controlled demonstration with one reader and several tags does not reproduce large commercial RFID environments such as distribution centers, factories or retail stores.
They also say coexistence must be evaluated in both directions: not only whether 5G interferes with RFID, but whether widespread RFID operations could affect the proposed 5G network.
This has become one of the central technical disagreements in the FCC proceeding.
The Conflict Is Also Regulatory
Most UHF RFID equipment operates under FCC Part 15 rules as unlicensed devices.
That makes the interference question especially important. RFID organizations are concerned that if the spectrum environment changes, existing users could face operational problems while having limited protection against licensed higher-power services.
NextNav rejects that scenario and maintains that its proposed network can coexist with existing Part 15 technologies.
AIM Global has cited potential RFID replacement costs of $5.0 billion to $7.2 billion if widespread equipment changes became necessary. These figures are industry estimates, not an FCC assessment.
No FCC Decision Date Yet
The FCC has not adopted NextNav’s proposed restructuring and has not announced a timetable for a final decision.
The proceeding remains open, and NextNav continues to urge the Commission to advance the proposal to the next stage of formal rulemaking.
There is currently no official deadline or published target date for an FCC decision.
For RFID users, this means there is no requirement to replace readers, antennas or tags, and no new U.S. UHF RFID frequency plan has taken effect.
The central question remains whether a higher-power 5G PNT network can be introduced into the 902–928 MHz environment without materially affecting the large installed base of RFID and other wireless systems already operating there.
NextNav says its tests show that coexistence is possible.
The RFID industry and the newly formed SpecTech Alliance say the evidence is not yet sufficient.