FirstNet Applications Getting Traction

One of the core objectives of the FirstNet experience is to provide a reliable, highly secure and interoperable ecosystem for the public safety community. To help achieve that objective FirstNet have created the App Catalog and an Application Certification Program

The App Catalog today counts a number of communications tools, situational awareness solutions and mobile security applications. It also offers a number of cloud services for storage and content delivery. 

All apps in the catalog have been tested and evaluated by AT&T and the network authority. "FirstNet Certified" apps meet criteria for relevancy, security and data privacy but have also gone through evaluations for public sector availability, resiliency and scalability.

New FirstNet App Catagory

Recently FirstNet introduced a new category, "FirstNet Listed”. This category gives developers a faster and more cost effective path to approval. According to AT&T officials: "FirstNet Listed apps still have the same security, relevance and data privacy requirements, but now, security scans are completed by FirstNet during the review process at no added cost to the developer".

The full App Catalog is available only to FirstNet subscribers. Check out below some of the entries below:

• 10-21 Video, a body-cam app that streams live video and shares it with other users.
• Explorer for ArcGIS, Esri's lightweight mapping app and data viewer that allows responders to create, markup and interact with their maps, even offline.
• HAAS Alert, a responder-to-vehicle service that delivers real-time alerts to drivers and connected cars via smartphone apps and in-vehicle systems when emergency vehicles are nearby and on-scene.
• Sonim SPCC, a suite of API’s designed to give developers additional integration capabilities with Sonim’s purpose-built hardware platform.
• NetMotion, a mobile virtual private network that helps to optimize and secure application traffic.
• PulsePoint, which crowdsources immediate care through CPR-trained citizens, allowing them to view alerts about nearby cardiac emergencies.
• Pulsara, a mobile platform that enables clinicians to exchange patient-specific information.
• SceneDoc, an evidence collection and management tool to assist investigators in the field.

Latest FirstNet Apps

One of the latest additions to the catalog is Tango Tango and Lookout for Work. Where Tango Tango is an app featuring encrypted push-to-talk voice, GPS location services, emergency alerting and text/multimedia messaging, Lookout for Work protects first responders from the entire spectrum of mobile risk such as cyberattacks, phishing, social engineering, identity theft and insurance fraud

The catalog now features 25 APIs and software development kits from six suppliers. These APIs enable services such as sending text messages to landlines and 911, single sign-on, call management and improved integration with FirstNet approved hardware and push-to-talk services.

Since the catalog went live in September, new Applications are being submitted on a regular basis under a wide range of categories specifically relevant to those who work in public safety.