The LoRa Alliance has officially submitted their comments in opposition to NextNav’s Rulemaking Application, which is currently pending before the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The simple fact is that if NextNav succeeds and the FCC changes the rules in the 902-928 MHz band as NextNav proposes, it will pose a serious threat to the rapidly growing Internet of Things (IoT) market in the United States, which is harmful. will harm the community. and businesses across the country.
The unlicensed group is used in a variety of services, including industrial, scientific, and medical equipment (ISM); site service and monitoring system (LMS); federal radio station; Section 15 unlicensed devices; and amateur radio operators.
This group requires that licensed user services integrate with Section 15 unlicensed devices, with non-interference validated through field testing. This requirement has allowed manufacturers to develop and market countless commercial and consumer products and services.
Next Nav Stance
However, NextNav’s application proposes to eliminate that protection, which threatens the existence of Section 15 equipment and confidence in the FCC’s stable regulation of the 902-928 MHz band, which is absolutely necessary for investment. NextNav is seeking to acquire additional spectrum in the 902-928 MHz band, which, if granted, would jeopardize the operation of billions of devices using the unlicensed spectrum.
While NextNav’s application states that this cluster is underutilized, the reality is that it has a vibrant ecosystem of Category 15 users with billions of devices — most of which support IoT applications — running on the cluster. The FCC’s decision at this stage, after many ecosystems have built their products and technologies in good faith, will cripple spectrum users in the United States. undermines the credibility of the FCC’s rules, hindering future innovation by unlicensed groups. The LoRa Alliance strongly urges the FCC to close this docket and deny NextNav’s application.
Our full response to this situation can be found here. We are also a signatory to the US Chamber of Commerce response, along with many others.
What is the Risk?
The LoRa Alliance, along with many other technology groups in Sector 15, are concerned about the impact of the NextNav proposal on the installed base and future applications. The NextNav application will limit LoRaWAN operations to 60 percent of the available band. The coexistence procedures established by the FCC for billions of devices in the 26 MHz band will almost certainly be impossible in the remaining 11 MHz, meaning that all of the unlicensed services described above will be non-functional. , will disrupt existing solutions, and weaken US competitiveness in IoT technology.
It is important to note that LoRaWAN is far from the only technology affected. Several other technologies are reporting similar concerns. To cite a few examples, the RAIN Alliance estimates that there are at least 80 billion objects tagged with RAIN RFID in the U.S. Similarly, the Z-Wave Alliance estimates that there are more than 100 million non-proliferating Z-wave spectrum devices, and E-ZPass estimates that approximately 60 million E-ZPass transponders will be deployed, generating approximately 5 billion transactions per year.
Organizations ranging from Wi-Fi and Wi-SUN to amateur radio operators, the Department of Defense, emergency services, and many other users are experiencing disruptions or loss of access, while NextNav has yet to report anything. clear economic or social benefit to the US from its proposal.
Business Implications
Its impact on American businesses and communities is undeniable. LoRaWAN standards are well established as a key IoT connectivity solution across the country. Tens of millions of sensors have been deployed, and hundreds of millions are planned over the next few years in thousands of cities and across the countryside, supporting a wide range of use cases. The flexibility of LoRaWAN networks means they can serve densely populated environments just as easily as simple rural regions, supporting critical applications, commercial and otherwise.
LoRaWAN networks are used to improve sustainability and improve the quality of life through thousands of applications in various markets such as smart agriculture, smart industry, smart healthcare, smart logistics, smart cities, public security, environmental monitoring, and many more.
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