NextNav Taps Policy Veteran Lisa Hook to Bolster GPS Alternative

RESTON, VA – February 27, 2026 – NextNav Inc. (NASDAQ:NN), a company at the forefront of developing next-generation 3D geolocation solutions, has announced the appointment of telecommunications and policy heavyweight Lisa Hook to its Board of Directors. The appointment, effective February 24, 2026, also positions Ms. Hook as Lead Independent Director and places her on the company's critical Technology and National Defense and Compensation and Human Capital Committees.

The move is being widely interpreted as a significant strategic maneuver for NextNav, which is focused on deploying a terrestrial network to complement and provide a resilient backup for the Global Positioning System (GPS). The company’s leadership emphasized the strategic value of Hook’s deep expertise.

“I am delighted to welcome Lisa to the NextNav Board of Directors,” said Mariam Sorond, NextNav’s Chief Executive Officer and Board Chair. “Her leadership in global information services and deep expertise in telecommunications policy make her an ideal partner as NextNav advances a resilient, terrestrial complement and backup to GPS and addresses one of America’s most urgent national security vulnerabilities.”

Ms. Hook echoed the sentiment, highlighting the urgency of the company's mission.

“NextNav is tackling a critical gap in our national security infrastructure, and the urgency of that mission is what drew me to this role,” said Lisa Hook. “I look forward to working with Mariam and the team as they execute on their vision for a resilient, terrestrial 5G 3D positioning and timing solution that America needs.”

A Strategic Play for a National Imperative

Lisa Hook’s resume reads like a blueprint for navigating the complex intersection of technology, public policy, and national security. Her appointment is far more than a standard corporate addition; it brings a formidable policy and governance expert into NextNav’s inner circle at a pivotal moment.

Her experience as President and CEO of Neustar, a global information services company, provides a foundation in data analytics and security. However, it is her deep roots in telecommunications policy that stand out. Having served as a legal advisor at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and General Counsel at Viacom International's Cable Group, she possesses an intimate understanding of the regulatory machinery that governs the airwaves NextNav depends on.

Perhaps most critically, Ms. Hook has served on the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) since 2012. This committee provides direct recommendations to the U.S. President on ensuring the reliability and security of the nation's communications infrastructure. Her long-standing role in this capacity directly aligns with NextNav's core value proposition: hardening America’s critical infrastructure against PNT (Positioning, Navigation, and Timing) disruption.

With over 30 years of public company board experience, including current roles at Nokia, Fidelity National Information Services (FIS), and as Lead Independent Director of Philip Morris International, Hook brings a seasoned perspective on corporate governance and strategy that will be invaluable as NextNav scales its operations and navigates public markets.

The Achilles' Heel of Modern Infrastructure

NextNav's mission is a direct response to a well-documented and growing threat: the vulnerability of GPS. Modern society runs on the precise timing and location data provided by GPS satellites orbiting 20,000 km above Earth. This data underpins everything from the electricity grid and financial markets to transportation logistics and 911 emergency services. Yet, the signals are astonishingly weak by the time they reach the ground, making them susceptible to disruption.

Two primary threats loom large: jamming and spoofing. Jamming involves overpowering the weak GPS signal with a stronger radio broadcast, effectively creating a dead zone where PNT data is unavailable. Spoofing is a more insidious attack, where false signals trick a GPS receiver into calculating an incorrect time or location. The real-world impacts of such disruptions are no longer theoretical, with incidents of jamming and spoofing increasingly affecting aviation and maritime navigation in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Terrestrial PNT solutions like NextNav's TerraPoiNT system are designed to fill this security gap. By using a network of ground-based transmitters, these systems provide a signal that is reportedly 100,000 times stronger than GPS. This not only makes it highly resilient to jamming but also allows it to penetrate buildings and dense urban canyons where GPS often fails. NextNav's technology also provides a crucial third dimension—vertical location, or altitude—a capability becoming essential for first responders, drone operations, and smart city applications.

Navigating a Complex Regulatory and Competitive Landscape

While the need for a GPS backup is clear, the path to deploying a nationwide solution is fraught with regulatory and commercial challenges. NextNav holds the nation’s largest license in the Lower 900 MHz spectrum band, a key asset for its terrestrial network. The company’s technology has been validated in government-led studies, with a 2021 Department of Transportation report identifying its TerraPoiNT system as the top-performing solution across all tested PNT scenarios.

To move forward, NextNav filed a rulemaking petition with the FCC in April 2024 to reconfigure the Lower 900 MHz band. The plan aims to create a dedicated lane for its PNT network while also freeing up 15 MHz of valuable low-band spectrum for 5G broadband services. However, this proposal has met with stiff resistance.

A coalition of tech companies and industry groups, including those representing users of RFID, Z-Wave, and LoRa technologies that currently operate in the band, have urged the FCC to reject the plan. They argue that NextNav's proposed changes could cause severe interference and disruption to millions of existing devices used in logistics, industrial automation, and smart home applications. This regulatory battle represents the single greatest hurdle to the company's ambitions, and it is precisely where Lisa Hook's policy acumen will be most critical.

Paving the Way for Commercialization

Despite regulatory headwinds, NextNav has been making significant technical and commercial progress, signaling its readiness to move from development to deployment. In October 2025, the company announced the successful integration of its PNT solution with standard 5G network equipment, demonstrating that its technology can be deployed efficiently within existing cellular infrastructure.

That same month, NextNav partnered with Adtran’s Oscilloquartz to integrate its 5G-based PNT technology with a grandmaster clock, a key step toward commercializing a GPS backup for critical timing applications in finance and telecommunications. The company's global ambitions were also highlighted by an expanded partnership with Japan's MetCom, which licensed NextNav's technology to build a terrestrial 5G PNT network in major Japanese cities.

Closer to home, the company is set to begin operations of a 5G PNT Network in Santa Clara County, California, as early as December 2025. This real-world deployment will serve as a crucial validation of its end-to-end architecture, proving it can deliver resilient PNT and broadband data simultaneously. These milestones underscore that NextNav is on the cusp of commercial reality, making the timing of Hook's appointment to provide high-level strategic guidance all the more significant.