Seeing Is Believing: NextNav Demonstrates 5G and RFID Coexistence in the Lower 900 MHz Band

On May 4, 2026, NextNav engineers ascended to the roof of 10 South Almaden Boulevard in San Jose (CA) to conduct a real-world coexistence demonstration using the company’s 5G PNT Network and a standard RFID reader with multiple RFID tags. The goal was straightforward: to put recent claims about RFID interference to the test and use a real-world demonstration to lower the temperature of this discussion. For months, some in the RFID industry have claimed that NextNav’s proposal to enable 5G-powered 3D PNT in the lower 900 MHz band would disrupt RFID devices and impose billions of dollars in costs due to incompatibility between the two systems. NextNav has already addressed those claims through detailed engineering analyses in the FCC record. Our studies showed definitively that RFID technologies are resilient by design and can continue to operate alongside 5G signals in the lower 900 MHz band without operational impact. Importantly, independent firm RKF Engineering has since reviewed our work and formally concurred with both the study methodology and the technical conclusions regarding RAIN RFID coexistence. Even though others’ claims are not backed by similar rigorous, fact-based technical analysis, they persist. That is why we decided to do a real-world demonstration. Sometimes, there is no better evidence than seeing it for yourself.