NextNav (NASDAQ:NN) reported a third-quarter 2026 net loss of approximately $4.2 million, as a non-cash gain on its warrant liability partially offset losses. Executives also highlighted progress in testing the company’s proposed GPS backup technology, while declining to predict when a federal regulatory review might conclude.
The company ended the quarter with approximately $290 million in cash, cash equivalents and short- and long-term investments, Chief Financial Officer Tim Gray said. A roughly $13 million gain from the change in fair value of its outstanding private warrant liability helped reduce the quarterly net loss.
Regulatory review continues
Chief Executive Officer Mariam Sorond said the Federal Communications Commission had submitted a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking focused on positioning, navigation and timing, or PNT, technologies for interagency review. NextNav is seeking to advance a ground-based complement and backup to GPS using its lower 900 MHz spectrum.
Sorond said the issues underpinning the proceeding, including national security, critical infrastructure protection and public safety, have received bipartisan support. Asked about the effect of the midterm election on the review, she said she expected PNT resiliency to remain a congressional priority.
During the question-and-answer session, Sorond declined to give a timeline for the review managed by the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The process allows interested parties to present their views, she said, adding that NextNav was not surprised opponents were participating.
“It is really their process, so I can’t comment on their timing,” Sorond said.
She said NextNav had concluded collaborative coexistence testing with the freight rail industry and was holding early discussions with other users of the band, including tolling and other industry stakeholders. The company has submitted substantial coexistence data, Sorond said, and would provide further analysis if the FCC requests it during the rulemaking process.
Field testing and partnerships
NextNav has been operating in Santa Clara County, California, since early 2026 under an experimental license, using its proposed band configuration in a live 5G network environment, Sorond said. She pointed to recently announced field-test results showing single-digit-meter positioning performance indoors and outdoors.
Sorond said the network operates at 5G power levels for base stations and devices and represents a real-world demonstration of how PNT could work on a 5G network. She said there had been no claims of interference during the Santa Clara testing, while noting that the authorization allows users in the band to report interference issues.
NextNav is also working with Safran on positioning and Oscilloquartz on timing, Sorond said. Partnerships with Tiami and AiRANACULUS are intended to extend the company’s capabilities into long-range sensing, including the detection and tracking of drones.
Asked whether sensing capabilities could be offered under current licenses, Sorond said NextNav can perform some technologies under existing rules but that the applications would work better on a 5G network. The company is demonstrating PNT in Santa Clara under the proposed rules, she said.
Low-band spectrum demand
Sorond described SpaceX’s proposed acquisition of Grain’s low-band spectrum assets as a market precedent highlighting the scarcity of such spectrum. She also noted that SpaceX had filed two ex parte letters referencing NextNav’s lower 900 MHz proposal, which she said reflected growing recognition of demand for additional low-band spectrum.
NextNav remains in discussions with potential strategic partners among telecommunications providers and technology companies, Sorond said. Asked about direct-to-device opportunities, she said the company’s testing has focused on terrestrial PNT rather than direct-to-device services, for which other low-band testing already exists.
About NextNav (NASDAQ:NN)
NextNav, Inc. develops positioning, navigation and timing technologies designed to complement and help provide alternatives to satellite-based GPS. Its services support location-aware applications in environments where GPS signals may be limited, including indoors and in urban areas. The company’s offerings include Pinnacle, a service that provides vertical location information, such as a device’s floor or height within a building, and TerraPoiNT, a terrestrial network designed to deliver positioning and timing signals.
