A coalition of US industry groups has launched a campaign opposing a proposal to repurpose the country’s Lower 900MHz spectrum, warning that changes could disrupt billions of connected devices and impose substantial replacement costs on businesses.
The SpecTech Alliance, formed by organisations representing consumer electronics, retail, aviation, trucking, security and connected-device industries, is calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reject a proposal from NextNav to restructure the 902–928MHz band for a terrestrial positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) network intended to provide a backup to GPS.
The band is widely used by wireless technologies including RAIN RFID, industrial IoT systems, sensors and asset-tracking equipment. Its established use has allowed a large ecosystem of devices and infrastructure to operate under existing FCC rules for more than three decades, according to the alliance.
The coalition claims that changing the band could affect billions of existing devices and cost US businesses as much as $7 billion. It argues that affected equipment could require modification or replacement, while interference could disrupt applications ranging from logistics and industrial operations to security and public safety.
NextNav has proposed using the spectrum to strengthen terrestrial positioning capabilities as a complement to GPS. The company’s proposal is being considered by the FCC following more than 2,000 public comments and an extended technical and economic review.
The SpecTech Alliance says the majority of comments submitted to the FCC oppose the proposal, and points to independent testing, economic analysis and submissions from public safety organisations in support of its position.
For IoT operators, the dispute highlights the dependence of established connected-device ecosystems on spectrum allocations that can remain largely invisible to end users. RAIN RFID in particular relies on the 902–928MHz band in the US for the identification and tracking of physical assets across sectors including retail, logistics and manufacturing.
The alliance includes the Connected Devices for America Coalition, Consumer Technology Association, RAIN Alliance, Airlines for America, American Trucking Associations, National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association and Security Industry Association.
The FCC will ultimately determine whether and how the Lower 900MHz band can be reconfigured.
