Dr. Sanyogita Shamsunder

Chief Operating Officer, NextNav.

Sanyogita Shamsunder received her Ph.D. in Statistical Signal Processing with a minor in Math from the University of Virginia and her MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at NextNav, leveraging over two decades of leadership experience in major technology companies.

Dr. Shamsunder previously held executive positions at Verizon and Google, where she led global teams and managed budgets exceeding high double digit million dollars. Her contributions were instrumental in launching the world’s first large-scale 5G network and 4G smartphones. At Google, she led the consumer and the enterprise cloud edge networking.

Her expertise spans wireless technologies, networking, semiconductors, and IoT, with a proven track record in innovation and full product development lifecycle management. Dr. Shamsunder has served on multiple boards, providing strategic guidance and fostering innovation. She also advises tech startups on product roadmaps and go-to market strategies. A passionate advocate for STEM education, Dr. Shamsunder actively volunteers for various educational and women’s support initiatives. Her work continues to drive transformative change in the technology sector, blending technical acumen with strategic leadership.

Abstract: This plenary session, led by Dr. Sanyogita Shamsunder, a technology executive with over two decades of leadership experience at industry giants like Google and Verizon, explores the critical role of Global Positioning System (GPS) in modern society and the urgent need for resilient Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) alternatives. We examine the widespread dependence on GPS across critical infrastructure sectors and the significant vulnerabilities inherent in its signals, with potential daily economic impacts of $1 billion during service disruptions. The presentation will assess the current state of U.S. PNT resilience, highlighting the lack of terrestrial PNT backup systems compared to global competitors. The session will showcase NextNav’s groundbreaking positioning technology, which utilizes terrestrial transmitters and advanced signal processing to provide accurate 3D positioning in GPS challenged environments. Additionally, we will explore emerging 5G-based terrestrial positioning techniques. Drawing from her extensive experience in pioneering 4G and 5G technologies and leading-edge network infrastructure development, Dr. Shamsunder will provide valuable insights into the pressing need for comprehensive solutions to safeguard critical infrastructure against potential GPS disruptions and the promising technologies poised to address these challenges.