Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Services: ANSI Seeks Comments on Proposed International Technical Committee

Send comments to ANSI by November 12

Share your thoughts with ANSI by November 12 on a proposal from the Korea Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) for a new International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee (TC) on positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services.

PNT services have become foundational digital infrastructure across sectors from transport and telecommunications to finance, energy, and advanced manufacturing, yet according to the proposal, no cross-sector international standards framework exists for them. The proposal asserts that standardization for PNT services is critical to interoperability between different global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and to enhancing global navigation accuracy, reliability, and safety.

The proposal builds on an ISO Open Consultation, held from November 2024 through October 2025 with 260 registered participants from 46 countries, to assess stakeholder needs, identify standardization gaps, and recommend future ISO activity. It includes the following scope statement:

“Standardization in the field of Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) services at the service and application level, including architectures, terminology, service frameworks, data structures, interfaces and service-level performance criteria and assurance requirements enabling interoperable, reliable, secure and resilient PNT services across multiple sectors. The work addresses service-level concepts such as interoperability, integrity, resilience, and service frameworks for the provision and management of PNT services and PNT-related information. Sector-specific technologies and standards already covered by existing ISO, IEC or other international committees are excluded.”

Standardization covered by the following committees is excluded from the scope:

• ISO TC 8, SC 6, Navigation and ship operations
• ISO TC 20, SC 14, Space systems and operations
• ISO TC 22, Road vehicles
• ISO TC 23, SC 19, Agricultural electronics
• ISO TC 113, SC 5, Instruments, equipment and data management
• ISO TC 172, SC 6, Geodetic and surveying instruments
• ISO TC 204, Intelligent transport systems
• ISO TC 211, Geographic information/Geomatics
• ISO/IEC JTC 1, SC 6, Telecommunications and information exchange between systems
• ISO/IEC JTC 1, SC 27, Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection
• ISO/IEC JTC 1, SC 32, Data management and interchange
• ISO/IEC JTC 1, SC 38, Cloud computing and distributed platforms
• ISO/IEC JTC 1, SC 41, Internet of things and digital twin
• ISO/IEC JTC 1, SC 42, Artificial intelligence
• IEC TC 80, Maritime navigation and radiocommunication equipment and systems
• IEC TC 100, Audio, video and multimedia systems and equipment

ISO conducted outreach to committees identified as having potential overlap. None objected to the proposal, but they advocated for coordination, particularly with ISO TC 211 and ISO TC 20, SC 14. Following the October meeting of the ISO Technical Management Board, the proposal is being circulated to the full ISO membership for vote. Members are asked to review it and, if they support it, to indicate whether it justifies a new technical committee or would be better addressed within the scope of ISO TC 211 or ISO TC 20, SC 14.

Read the proposal and submit comments to Sara Desautels, ANSI senior director of international policy, at [email protected] by close of business on November 12, 2026.