Xona Space Systems has received conditional authorization from the Federal Communications Commission to transmit commercial positioning, navigation and timing signals from its planned Pulsar constellation, removing one of the largest regulatory obstacles facing the private satellite navigation network.
The authorization expands the operating permission previously granted for the company’s Pulsar-0 demonstration satellite and allows Xona to broadcast proprietary navigation signals from a constellation of more than 250 satellites in low Earth orbit.
Xona describes the decision as the final major regulatory milestone required to move Pulsar from an on-orbit demonstration into scaled deployment. The company’s current network architecture calls for 258 small satellites operating at an altitude of approximately 1,080 kilometers.
Pulsar Signals Near GPS Frequencies
The FCC authorization allows Pulsar satellites to transmit in L-band spectrum adjacent to the frequencies used by GPS L1 and L5 signals.
Pulsar will not rebroadcast GPS data or operate directly inside the GPS channels. Instead, Xona has developed independent X1 and X5 signals with customized modulation intended to coexist with GPS, aviation navigation equipment and other systems operating within the tightly controlled L-band environment.
This distinction is critical. Xona is not building a correction service that depends on GPS measurements. Pulsar is designed as an independent source of positioning and timing data that can supplement existing global navigation satellite systems or provide an alternative when conventional signals are weak, jammed, spoofed or unavailable.
According to Xona, compatible GNSS receivers may be able to support Pulsar through firmware or software modifications rather than an entirely new hardware platform. The system is being designed for receivers that already support the L1 and L5 frequency bands.
Stronger LEO Navigation Signals
The central technical advantage of Pulsar comes from orbital altitude.
GPS satellites operate in medium Earth orbit at approximately 20,200 kilometers above Earth. Xona’s satellites will operate at roughly 1,080 kilometers, placing them nearly 20 times closer to users on the ground.
That shorter transmission distance allows Pulsar to deliver received signal power up to 100 times stronger than the GPS L1 C/A signal, according to the company. Xona lists a maximum received signal level of approximately minus 136 dBW.
Stronger signals could improve availability in environments where conventional GNSS performance deteriorates, including urban canyons, areas with heavy tree cover, industrial facilities and locations affected by intentional radio-frequency interference.
Xona is also targeting native horizontal positioning accuracy of approximately 2 centimeters, vertical accuracy of approximately 4 centimeters and timing accuracy below 10 nanoseconds. These remain company performance targets rather than results certified by the FCC. The agency’s authorization covers spectrum use and interference protection, not validation of the commercial service’s accuracy, security or reliability.
FCC Approval Includes Deployment Limits
The authorization covers Xona’s planned 258-satellite network, but it does not immediately permit deployment of the entire constellation.
The FCC has initially authorized the company to launch and operate 16 satellites. Xona must submit an updated orbital-debris assessment and receive additional approval before deploying the remaining spacecraft.
The authorization also establishes deployment deadlines. Xona must place at least half of the authorized constellation in orbit by July 2032 and complete deployment by July 2035.
Interference protection remains a central condition of the license. Xona must immediately stop transmissions if Pulsar causes harmful interference to GPS, aviation navigation systems or other authorized spectrum users.
These conditions reflect the unusual sensitivity of L-band spectrum. Navigation signals support aircraft operations, telecommunications networks, financial transactions, military systems, emergency services and national infrastructure. Even a technically promising commercial service must demonstrate that it can coexist safely with those established users.
Pulsar-0 Validates the Signal
Xona launched Pulsar-0, its first production-class spacecraft, in June 2025 to test the company’s signal architecture in orbit.
During its first year, the satellite completed more than 350 transmission passes across four continents. Xona also collected approximately 22 terabytes of GNSS observability data, completed four major on-orbit software updates and demonstrated signal tracking with more than a dozen commercial receivers.
Those tests were particularly important for the FCC application because Xona needed to show that a substantially stronger navigation signal could operate near established GNSS frequencies without causing unacceptable interference.
The satellite also allowed receiver manufacturers and prospective customers to evaluate Pulsar using live signals rather than relying entirely on constellation simulations.
Six Satellites Planned for October
Xona is preparing to launch six additional satellites on a SpaceX rideshare mission scheduled for October 2026.
Two spacecraft are expected to use satellite buses designed and manufactured at Xona’s new production facility in Burlingame, California. The remaining four were developed through the company’s manufacturing relationship with Belgian satellite producer Aerospacelab.
The Burlingame facility, opened in April 2026, is intended to support production of the remaining satellites required for the full Pulsar constellation. Xona also maintains an engineering and development operation in Montreal.
Scaling that manufacturing system will be as important as proving the signal itself. A global LEO navigation service requires many more satellites than a conventional medium Earth orbit GNSS constellation because each spacecraft covers a smaller area and remains visible from any location for a shorter period.
Timing Services Could Arrive First
Xona expects its first commercial applications to focus on precise timing rather than continuous global navigation.
Telecommunications networks, financial institutions, power infrastructure and data centers require accurate time references to synchronize equipment, transactions and distributed systems. These users may benefit from Pulsar before the constellation is large enough to provide uninterrupted positioning coverage worldwide.
The company expects timing coverage to become more persistent once approximately 16 satellites are operational. Continuous global navigation will require a significantly larger portion of the planned 258-satellite constellation.
This phased commercial strategy is technically logical. Timing users can receive value from intermittent or regionally available satellite passes, while navigation services for vehicles, aircraft, autonomous machines and mobile devices require several satellites to remain visible continuously.
Technical Analysis
The FCC decision is important because spectrum access, not satellite manufacturing, may have been the hardest barrier for Xona to overcome.
Building a small LEO satellite is no longer unusual. Broadcasting a powerful proprietary navigation signal beside GPS frequencies is much more difficult because any interference could affect safety-critical and national-security systems.
However, regulatory authorization does not remove the remaining engineering and commercial risks.
Xona still has to manufacture and launch hundreds of spacecraft, maintain precise orbit and clock information, build reliable ground infrastructure and persuade receiver manufacturers to support a navigation signal that is not operated by a national government.
Receiver compatibility will be especially important. A firmware upgrade may be technically possible for some modern GNSS chipsets, but large-scale adoption will depend on antenna performance, radio-frequency front-end design, licensing terms and support from major semiconductor and equipment manufacturers.
The strongest near-term opportunity may therefore be resilient timing and specialized industrial positioning rather than immediate replacement of GPS in consumer devices.
Pulsar could become particularly valuable in precision agriculture, autonomous equipment, surveying, telecommunications and defense applications where centimeter-level performance, rapid convergence and resistance to jamming justify the cost of adding another signal source.
The most realistic interpretation is not that Xona is building a new GPS replacement. It is building a commercial navigation layer that could make existing GNSS equipment more accurate, resilient and verifiable. That complementary role may ultimately be more commercially valuable than attempting to displace government constellations.
About Xona Space Systems
Xona Space Systems is a privately held satellite navigation company founded in 2019 and headquartered in Burlingame, California, with additional engineering operations in Montreal.
The company is developing Pulsar, a commercial LEO positioning, navigation and timing constellation currently planned around 258 satellites operating at approximately 1,080 kilometers.
Xona announced a $170 million Series C funding round in March 2026 to accelerate constellation deployment and expand satellite manufacturing. The round was led by Mohari Ventures Natural Capital and included participation from Craft Ventures, ICONIQ, Woven Capital, NGP Capital, Samsung Next and Hexagon.
The company had previously announced $92 million in additional funding in June 2025. It has also secured more than $20 million in signed government contracts, including a $4.65 million U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory program focused on resilient commercial positioning and timing capabilities.
Xona says Pulsar is being designed to provide signal strength up to 100 times greater than conventional GPS, positioning accuracy as precise as 2 centimeters horizontally and timing accuracy below 10 nanoseconds.
Source: www.xonaspace.com
