Burlingame, CA - Mar. 13, 2024 -- Brian Manning, CEO of Xona Space Systems, Inc., issued the following statement in response to reports that Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party wrote to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel following reports that U.S. cell phones and other devices are receiving and processing signals from Chinese and Russian satellites in violation of the FCC’s rules. 

 

Xona Space Systems Inc. commends Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) for calling attention to the issue of unauthorized Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal usage in the U.S. 

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GPS’s increasing risks, threats, and vulnerabilities have long been recognized, and as early as December 2004, President George W. Bush issued National Security Presidential Directive 39, mandating the United States to develop, maintain, and modernize GPS, including providing a GPS backup capability in the event of GPS disruption. Additionally, consumer demands for better satellite navigation resilience and accuracy have been steadily increasing, driven by advancements in technologies such as mobile phones, autonomy, and robotics. U.S. and authorized systems alone can no longer support the needs of modern users, driving them to turn to additional sources of positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) such as China’s Beidou and Russia’s GLONASS.   

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To that end, the U.S. has recently been making strides to enhance domestic capabilities. It has been very encouraging to see some government agencies, especially the U.S. Space Force, which operates GPS, leaning forward to work with small nontraditional U.S. companies like Xona Space Systems, Inc.  Efforts like the Space Force’s Alternative PNT Topic in the SBIR 24.1 Broad Agency Announcement and the GPS Rapid Prototype Demonstration RFI are tangible steps toward innovation in a capability area that has remained largely stagnant for the past several decades despite rapidly growing consumer demands for enhanced performance.     

 

Xona is leveraging the technical innovations and ethos of the new space industry to provide a PNT service that is more than 100 times stronger than current GPS signals and provides better than 5-centimeter accuracy that can be integrated into existing GPS receivers. Xona’s service is designed to fill the rapidly growing gap between current domestic capabilities and the demands of modern applications, enabling them to operate at the desired level of performance and reliability without reliance on unauthorized systems. By embracing U.S. ingenuity and the commercial new space ecosystem to augment or provide alternative PNT solutions to back up GPS, the U.S. can rapidly develop and provide the capabilities necessary to ensure that we remain the global leader in PNT capability for both our civilian and military users, and ensure that we do not rely on unauthorized systems for a critical capability that is the backbone of so much of the U.S.’s economy and national security.  

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In order to bring modern capabilities like Xona’s to market, the U.S. government must encourage more expediency in regulatory and licensing processes.  Spectrum licensing in particular remains one of the key barriers to entry for space-based companies.  As the first U.S. commercial company to pursue a GNSS constellation, Xona has been grappling with “policy paralysis” from an institution that has only seen nation states operate in the field.  GNSS has a well-established set of safeguards resulting from operator-to-operator bilateral agreements to protect existing systems, in addition to the rules and regulations provided by the FCC and International Telecommunications Union.  These regulatory frameworks have protected GNSS programs for decades, and Xona believes they are also adequate and appropriate for protecting GNSS programs in the future – both commercially and government operated. Additional rules or restrictions will only lead to stifling U.S. innovation and progress while potentially upsetting existing operator-to-operator bilateral agreements.  Xona encourages lawmakers and regulatory decision makers to expediently process license applications for those following these long-standing rules and not give way to “policy paralysis.” 

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About Xona Space Systems, Inc.

Xona Space Systems is developing the first ever independent high-performance satellite navigation and timing system designed to meet the needs of intelligent systems. Delivered via a secure, high-power signal from Xona's low Earth orbit satellites, the patent-pending Pulsar™ service aims to enable the next wave of connected technology. Learn more at www.xonaspace.com. 

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Media Inquiries:

info@xonaspace.com

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