Verizon To Support Five Firms Building 5G-powered Tools For EMS Workers

Verizon on Thursday named five companies it will work with to develop 5G-based tools for emergency medical services. The companies represent the latest cohort to join Verizon's 5G First Responder Lab, an initiative to support companies building a wide variety of 5G solutions for first responders.  

As part of the program, the five companies will get access over six months to Verizon 5G specialists, engineers, and Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband network to build out their products. 

The participants include Biotricity, a company focused on near real-time remote medical monitoring; Rave Mobile Safety, which offers a critical communications and data sharing platform; DispatchHealth, which provides on-call medical care; Vuzix, which provides augmented reality tools to first responders; and Visionable, which provides a platform for near real-time medical collaboration

"With the COVID-19 global pandemic, EMS workers on the frontlines are struggling with a heavy workload and oftentimes a lack of vital information at their fingertips," said Andrés Irlando, president of Public Sector and Verizon Connect at Verizon, in a statement. "Solutions built on Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband network will put critical information in the hands of EMS workers by enabling innovations like smart dispatching, non-emergent interventions, telehealth, and remote diagnostics."

Verizon launched the 5G First Responder Lab in November 2018 in partnership with the company Responder Corp. They're now accepting applications for the fifth cohort of participants, which will include companies focused on fire response and situational awareness solutions.