NextNav (NASDAQ:NN) said its second-quarter actions strengthened its balance sheet, expanded liquidity and advanced partnerships and technical validation efforts as the company continues to pursue regulatory approval for its proposed 900 MHz terrestrial positioning, navigation and timing network.
Chief Executive Officer Mariam Sorond said the company increased available liquidity to about $300 million and made progress in regulatory engagement, strategic partnerships and technology development. The company is seeking to position its terrestrial 5G-powered 3D PNT platform as a resilient complement and backup to GPS for applications including public safety, critical infrastructure, defense and telecommunications.
Balance Sheet Actions Eliminate Debt
The company converted all outstanding debt into 15.2 million shares, as debt holders elected to receive shares rather than cash. Separately, holders exercised 14.8 million public SPAC warrants, delivering nearly $170 million to the company by July 1, Gray said.
NextNav reported a roughly $32 million non-cash loss associated with changes in the fair value of its derivative and warrant liability during the quarter. The loss was partially offset by an approximately $21 million gain on debt extinguishment, resulting in a net loss of about $33.8 million, according to Gray.
FCC Process and SpaceX Filing
Sorond said the Federal Communications Commission has formally submitted a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking focused on promoting PNT technologies and solutions for interagency review, including review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Timing remains subject to those reviews, she said.
The company also pointed to the FCC’s fiscal 2026-2030 strategic plan, released in early July by Chairman Carr, which included developing PNT technologies that could serve as alternatives to GPS and provide redundancy against outages.
NextNav said SpaceX filed an ex parte letter in the company’s FCC proceeding urging the agency to encourage investment that would put scarce low- and mid-band spectrum to work for terrestrial, direct-to-device and internet-of-things services. Sorond said the filing expressly referenced NextNav’s 900 MHz proposal.
“We are very excited to see their involvement in this proceeding,” Sorond said in response to an analyst question. She said SpaceX’s filing validates demand for low-band spectrum, which she described as scarce, while noting that SpaceX sought flexible-use spectrum allocations supporting terrestrial and direct-to-device operations.
When asked about potential commercial implications of SpaceX’s interest, Sorond said SpaceX has indicated it intends to build a terrestrial network alongside its direct-to-device network and has highlighted a need for low-band spectrum. She did not identify a specific arrangement between the companies.
Sorond said NextNav continues to engage with federal agencies and stakeholders, including licensed and unlicensed users of the band. The company said it has been working with freight railroads, tolling industry participants and utilities on coexistence planning. Sorond said testing with railroads in Colorado had concluded and that the results were “great,” with discussions continuing.
Partnerships and Technology Development
NextNav recently announced an agreement with Safran Electronics & Defense to integrate and demonstrate interoperability between its terrestrial 5G PNT network and Safran navigation and timing receivers. The companies intend to evaluate the technology in real-world operating environments and assess its contribution to resilience and continuity requirements for mission-critical uses.
Sorond said the collaboration could support future solutions for defense, unmanned aerial vehicles, aviation, energy and other critical-infrastructure markets.
The company also named Tiami Networks as a sensing ecosystem partner for the development of 900 MHz 5G positioning reference signal-based counter-UAS detection capabilities for homeland security and critical-infrastructure applications. NextNav said it is advancing wide-area sensing capabilities through its Santa Clara pilot network and integrated sensing and communications partners.
In addition, NextNav entered an agreement to place its Z-axis software and reference data directly on a Tier 1 partner’s devices for 911 vertical-location services. Sorond said the device-based arrangement added a customer, demonstrated the platform’s versatility and could create a path for future 3D PNT offerings and incremental revenue opportunities.
The company said it demonstrated approximately 20 nanoseconds of timing accuracy over its operational 5G PNT network in outdoor, indoor and GPS-denied environments. Sorond said the results support the platform’s potential use in AI data centers, utilities, telecommunications, public safety and national-security applications.
International and Drone Ecosystem Efforts
On an analyst question about its investment and collaboration with MetCom in Japan, Sorond said NextNav continues to view the relationship as valuable, particularly because MetCom uses the company’s Z-axis capabilities. Gray said certain conditions remain necessary before warrant-related actions can occur, including an agreement from the Japanese government concerning spectrum positioning.
NextNav also said it joined GSMA and other industry participants in an initiative focused on safe and scalable drone operations. Sorond said the effort reflects growing recognition that resilient, network-based PNT capabilities may be needed for low-altitude aviation and commercial and public-sector drone applications.
Looking ahead, Sorond said NextNav expects to continue testing its 3D PNT capabilities, including positioning, while conducting additional coexistence testing when it is needed to advance the FCC proceeding. The company remains in discussions with potential strategic partners across wireless carriers, satellite operators and technology companies, she said.
About NextNav (NASDAQ:NN)
NextNav, Inc is a provider of advanced 3D geolocation infrastructure and positioning services in the United States. The company operates a nationwide network designed to deliver real-time horizontal and vertical location data for consumer, enterprise and public safety applications. By leveraging spectrum holdings in the 900 MHz band, NextNav’s network offers precise altitude and position information that complements GPS and other satellite systems, particularly in urban canyons, indoors or underground environments where traditional signals struggle.
At the core of NextNav’s offering is its TerraPoiNT platform, which enables developers, carriers and emergency response centers to integrate high-accuracy vertical location into their applications and workflows.
