Notice2026-08998
Self-Regulatory Organizations; The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Extend the Designated Date for Removal of the Exchange's Dedicated GPS Antenna Service Under General 8, Section 1(d)
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 7, 2026
Issuing agencies
Securities and Exchange Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 88 (Thursday, May 7, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 88 (Thursday, May 7, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24949-24951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-08998]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-105363; File No. SR-NASDAQ-2026-042]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC;
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To
Extend the Designated Date for Removal of the Exchange's Dedicated GPS
Antenna Service Under General 8, Section 1(d)
May 4, 2026.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that
on April 28, 2026, The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (``Nasdaq'' or
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``SEC'' or ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in
Items I, II, and III, below, which Items have been prepared by the
Exchange. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments
on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
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\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to extend further the previously designated
date of April 30, 2026 by which service for existing customers with a
dedicated GPS antenna under General 8, Section 1(d) (Co-Location
Services) will terminate and all dedicated GPS antennas must be
removed, as described further below.
The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's
website at <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rulefilings">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rulefilings</a>, and at the principal office of the Exchange.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, the Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and
discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in
Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in
sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such
statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
The Exchange offers a Global Positioning System (``GPS'') antenna
service, which allows customers that co-locate their servers and
equipment within the Exchange's original data center (``NY 11'') in
Carteret, NJ to synchronize their time recording systems to the U.S.
Government's GPS network time (the ``Service''). GPS network time is
the atomic time scale implemented by the atomic clocks in the GPS
ground control stations and GPS satellites. Each GPS satellite contains
multiple atomic clocks that contribute precise time data to the GPS
signals. GPS receivers decode these signals, synchronizing the
receivers to the atomic clocks. A GPS antenna serves as a time signal
receiver and feeds a primary clock device the GPS network time using
precise time data. Firms can use the precise time data provided by the
GPS antenna to time-stamp transactional information. Time
synchronization services are well established in the U.S. and utilized
in many areas of the U.S. economy and infrastructure. The Service is
not novel to the securities markets, or to the Exchange.
Historically, the Exchange has offered connectivity to a GPS
antenna via two options: over shared infrastructure or a dedicated
antenna.\3\
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\3\ The shared infrastructure provides GPS services through
Nasdaq-installed shared cables and hardware located within the data
center, whereas the dedicated antenna requires the firm to supply
their own privately owned antenna hardware. The dedicated GPS
antenna service was made available only in the Exchange's original
data center hall, NY11. As discussed in this proposal, on September
30, 2025, the Exchange filed to terminate the dedicated GPS antenna
service and associated fees. See Securities Exchange Act Release No.
104203 (Nov. 18, 2025), 90 FR 52776 (Nov. 21, 2025) (SR-NASDAQ-2025-
086). By contrast, the shared GPS antenna service is available in
the NY11, as well as the Exchange's extension area (NY11-4) and its
future extension area (NY11-5).
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Fees for such GPS antenna services are as follows. The installation
fee for the shared connection is $900, and the monthly fee for that
service is $600.\4\ The installation fee for existing clients of the
dedicated GPS antenna is $1,500 and the monthly fee for that service is
$600.\5\
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\4\ See Rule General 8, Section 1(d).
\5\ See SR-NASDAQ-2025-086, supra note 3. Firms may choose to
purchase multiple time synchronization Services for resiliency or
otherwise. The Exchange offers the Service as a convenience to firms
to provide them with the ability to synchronize their own primary
clock devices to GPS time via a shared GPS timing signal and time-
stamp transactional information. Firms do not receive an advantage
by purchasing the service. See id.
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The Exchange previously submitted a filing to terminate the
dedicated GPS antenna option and associated fee and designate April 1,
2026, as the date by which the dedicated GPS antenna service would be
terminated and all dedicated GPS antennas would be required to be
removed.\6\ Pursuant to that proposal, the Service for existing
customers with a dedicated GPS antenna was due to terminate as of April
1, 2026, and all dedicated GPS antennas would have been required to be
removed by such date.\7\ In a subsequent filing, the Exchange extended
the designated termination date to April 30, 2026, to facilitate a more
coordinated and orderly transition for customers migrating to the
shared GPS service.\8\ Customers that want to continue to use the
Service can request the shared GPS antenna service.
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\6\ See SR-NASDAQ-2025-086 supra note 3.
\7\ See SR-NASDAQ-2025-086 supra note 3. As further discussed in
that filing, the decision to remove the dedicated GPS antenna
service option is consistent with the Exchange's project to equalize
certain connections across its entire data center campus, including
both its existing NY11 facility and the NY11-4 expansion area (the
``Equalization Project'') and maintain adequate controls of all
cables that run throughout the data center. See Securities and
Exchange Act Release No. 34-101078 (Sep. 18, 2024), 89 FR 77937
(Sep. 24, 2024) (SR-NASDAQ-2024-054) (``Co-Location Expansion
Proposal''). In accordance with the Equalization Project's goal of
ensuring that customers do not bypass the integrity of the equalized
connections maintained throughout the data center, the Exchange is
no longer allowing customers to order dedicated GPS antenna service
as of September 30, 2025. See SR-NASDAQ-2025-086 supra note 3.
\8\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-105103, 91 FR
16253 (April 1, 2026), SR-NASDAQ-2026-019 (March 27, 2019).
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For the reasons discussed below, the Exchange now proposes to
designate a longer period of time for termination of the dedicated GPS
antenna service and associated fee. Specifically, the Exchange
anticipates retiring the dedicated GPS antenna service by the end of
May 2026, and proposes to announce the new retirement date in an email
to customers' Customer Portal Accounts at least 10 business days in
advance of retiring the service. As proposed, the Exchange would
continue to assess and charge existing customers of the dedicated GPS
antenna service the established recurring monthly fee of
[[Page 24950]]
$600.00 \9\ for that service until the retirement date announced in
such Equity Trader Alert,\10\ prorating such fees as appropriate. The
Exchange would not charge customers the established installation fee
for such service during the proposed extension period because as of
September 30, 2025, the Exchange no longer permits new orders for the
dedicated GPS antenna service.\11\ Continuing with the service until
the announced retirement date is voluntary, and customers are free to
terminate the dedicated GPS antenna service at any time before the
announced retirement date.
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\9\ As discussed above, fees for the dedicated GPS service
consist of an installation fee of $1,500 and an ongoing monthly fee
of $600.00. See SR-NASDAQ-2025-086, supra note 3.
\10\ The Exchange is proposing to charge only the ongoing
monthly fee of $600.00 until the retirement date, prorating such
fees as appropriate. As discussed in this proposal, the Exchange is
not proposing to charge such customers the established installation
fee during the proposed extension period.
\11\ The Exchange is not proposing to assess the installation
fee of $1,500 for that period because, as of September 30, 2025, new
orders for dedicated GPS antenna service are not permitted. See SR-
NASDAQ-2025-086 supra note 3.
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As background, the Exchange previously extended the designated
termination date from April 1, 2026 to April 30, 2026, due to delays in
receipt of the necessary infrastructure to support the newly robust
shared GPS network, which caused the completion date for the new shared
GPS antenna offering to move from March 1, 2026, to March 27, 2026. The
Exchange has now encountered unanticipated delays in migrating existing
customers off of the dedicated GPS antenna service. As a result, the
Exchange anticipates that it will retire the dedicated GPS antenna
service by the end of May 2026, and proposes to announce the specific
retirement date in an email to customers' Customer Portal Accounts at
least 10 business days in advance of retiring the service.
The Exchange believes that further extending the designated
termination date for the dedicated GPS antenna service and providing at
least 10 business days advance notice via emails to Customer Portal
Accounts would allow the Exchange sufficient time to complete the
migration of existing customers to the new shared GPS network, thus
supporting a more coordinated and orderly transition from one GPS
service to another.
Currently, approximately 49% of the Exchange's co-location
customers subscribe to the Service, most of which have opted for the
shared GPS antenna option. The Service is an optional product available
to any firm that chooses to subscribe. Firms may cancel their
subscription at any time. The Service simply provides time
synchronization that may be utilized by firms to adjust their own time
systems and time-stamp transactional information. The GPS antenna
service is offered on a completely voluntary basis. No customer is
required to purchase the GPS antenna. Potential subscribers may
subscribe to the Service only if they voluntarily choose to do so. It
is a business decision of each firm whether to subscribe to the Service
or not. Customers do not receive an advantage by purchasing the Service
from Nasdaq; the Exchange is merely providing access to GPS signals.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that its proposal is consistent with Section
6(b) of the Act,\12\ in general, and furthers the objectives of
Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,\13\ in particular, in that it
provides for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees and
other charges among members and issuers and other persons using any
facility, and is not designed to permit unfair discrimination between
customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers.
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\12\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\13\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
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The Exchange's proposed change to its connectivity service offering
is reasonable in several respects. As a threshold matter, the Exchange
is subject to significant competitive forces in the market for equity
securities transaction services that constrain its pricing
determinations in that market. The fact that this market is competitive
has long been recognized by the courts. In NetCoalition v. Securities
and Exchange Commission, the D.C. Circuit stated as follows: ``[n]o one
disputes that competition for order flow is `fierce.' . . . As the SEC
explained, `[i]n the U.S. national market system, buyers and sellers of
securities, and the broker-dealers that act as their order-routing
agents, have a wide range of choices of where to route orders for
execution'; [and] `no exchange can afford to take its market share
percentages for granted' because `no exchange possesses a monopoly,
regulatory or otherwise, in the execution of order flow from broker
dealers'. . . .'' \14\
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\14\ NetCoalition v. SEC, 615 F.3d 525, 539 (D.C. Cir. 2010)
(quoting Securities Exchange Act Release No. 59039 (December 2,
2008), 73 FR 74770, 74782-83 (December 9, 2008) (SR-NYSEArca-2006-
21)).
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The Commission and the courts have repeatedly expressed their
preference for competition over regulatory intervention in determining
prices, products, and services in the securities markets. In Regulation
NMS, while adopting a series of steps to improve the current market
model, the Commission highlighted the importance of market forces in
determining prices and SRO revenues and, also, recognized that current
regulation of the market system ``has been remarkably successful in
promoting market competition in its broader forms that are most
important to investors and listed companies.'' \15\
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\15\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 (June 9, 2005),
70 FR 37496, 37499 (June 29, 2005) (``Regulation NMS Adopting
Release'').
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As discussed above, approximately 49% of the Exchange's co-location
customers subscribe to the Service and most of them have opted to
subscribe and migrate to the shared antenna.
The Exchange believes that it is reasonable to further extend the
time designated for terminating the dedicated GPS service (and removing
all dedicated GPS antennas) beyond the currently scheduled date of
April 30, 2026,\16\ and to announce the specific retirement date in an
email to customers' Customer Portal Accounts at least 10 business days
in advance of retiring the service, to facilitate the orderly
transition for customers that have opted to migrate to the Exchange's
new, robust shared GPS service. As discussed above, the Exchange has
encountered unanticipated delays in migrating existing customers off of
the dedicated GPS antenna service, such that the Exchange now
anticipates retiring the service by the end of May 2026.
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\16\ See SR-NASDAQ-2026-019, supra note 8.
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As noted above, approximately 49% of the Exchange's co-location
customers subscribe to the Service, and most of them have opted for the
shared antenna GPS service. Were the Exchange to terminate the
dedicated GPS antenna service as currently scheduled on April 30, 2026,
those dedicated GPS colocation customers who have elected to migrate to
the new robust shared GPS service may not have sufficient time to
complete the migration process. Thus, the Exchange believes that
further extending the designated termination date for the dedicated GPS
service and announcing the specific retirement date in an email to
Customer Portal Accounts at least 10 business days in advance of
retiring the service, as proposed, would allow for a more coordinated
and orderly transition for clients who have elected to migrate from one
GPS service to the other. Continuing with the service until the
announced retirement date, however, is voluntary, and customers are
free to terminate their dedicated GPS antenna service at any time
before the announced retirement date.
[[Page 24951]]
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose any burden on competition not necessary or appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act. Nothing in the proposal imposes
any burden on the ability of customers or other exchanges to compete.
The Exchange operates in a highly competitive market in which exchanges
and other vendors offer co-location services as a means to facilitate
the trading and other market activities of those market participants
who believe that co-location enhances the efficiency of their
operations. Extending the designated time for terminating the dedicated
GPS antenna services and for removal of all dedicated GPS antennas, as
proposed, will not cause any burden on inter-market competition.
Additionally, there is no burden to intra-market competition because
the dedicated GPS antenna service is ultimately being terminated for
all customers. The Exchange is merely proposing to further extend the
designated time for the termination of the dedicated GPS service and
removal of all dedicated GPS antennas and to provide at least 10
business days advance notice of the specific retirement date via emails
to Customer Portal Accounts, which would provide all customers with the
same timeline for terminating or converting to the shared GPS antenna
service on a non-discriminatory basis. Continuing with the service
until the announced retirement date, however, is voluntary, and
customers are free to terminate their dedicated GPS antenna service at
any time before the announced retirement date. Use of any co-location
service is completely voluntary, and each market participant can
determine whether to use co-location services based on the requirements
of its business operations.
The purpose of this proposal is to further extend the designated
date for termination of the GPS dedicated antenna service (and removal
of all dedicated GPS antennas) beyond April 30, 2026, as previously
scheduled, and to inform the Commission and market participants of that
change. The Exchange anticipates retiring the dedicated GPS antenna
service by the end of May 2026, and proposes to announce the specific
retirement date in an email to Customer Portal Accounts at least 10
business days in advance of retiring the service. The removal of the
Exchange's dedicated GPS antenna service under Rule General 8, Section
1(d) was proposed in a previous rule filing that was submitted to the
SEC,\17\ and the Exchange is not proposing in this filing any changes
to that filing other than to further modify the designated date for the
termination of the dedicated GPS antenna service and associated fee and
the removal of all dedicated GPS antennas. The Exchange is further
extending that termination date and implementing a notice-based
approach in light of unanticipated delays in migrating existing
customers off of the dedicated GPS antenna service, and in order to
provide customers who have opted for the shared GPS antenna service
with sufficient time to complete the migration before termination of
their dedicated GPS antenna service takes effect. As discussed above,
continuation of that service until the announced retirement date is
voluntary, and customers are free to terminate their dedicated GPS
antenna service at any time before the announced retirement date.
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\17\ See SR-NASDAQ-2025-086, supra note 3.
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C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were either solicited or received.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act.\18\
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\18\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
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At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule
change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule
change if it appears to the Commission that such action is: (i)
necessary or appropriate in the public interest; (ii) for the
protection of investors; or (iii) otherwise in furtherance of the
purposes of the Act. If the Commission takes such action, the
Commission shall institute proceedings to determine whether the
proposed rule should be approved or disapproved.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
Electronic Comments
<bullet> Use the Commission's internet comment form (<a href="https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>); or
<bullet> Send an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#582a2d343d753b3735353d362c2b182b3d3b763f372e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f785829b92da94989a9a92998384b7849294d9909881">[email protected]</span></a>. Please include
file number SR-NASDAQ-2026-042 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
<bullet> Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to file number SR-NASDAQ-2026-042. This
file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To
help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently,
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on
the Commission's internet website (<a href="https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>). Copies of the filing will be available for inspection and
copying at the principal office of the Exchange. Do not include
personal identifiable information in submissions; you should submit
only information that you wish to make available publicly. We may
redact in part or withhold entirely from publication submitted material
that is obscene or subject to copyright protection. All submissions
should refer to file number SR-NASDAQ-2026-042 and should be submitted
on or before May 28, 2026.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\19\
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\19\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-08998 Filed 5-6-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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