BroadForward delivers advanced MAP-Diameter Interworking

BroadForward, the interface experts from the Netherlands, today announced they have extended the BFX interface gateway (BFX Unified Signaling Core) with support for the Interworking Function (IWF) between MAP-based Gr, Gf interfaces and Diameter-based S6a, S6d, S13, S13a interfaces.

MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2013, BARCELONA, Spain, February 25, 2013

World’s most advanced on-board interworking capabilities

This latest release of BFX combines the world’s most advanced on-board interworking capabilities with support for MAP interworking according to the 3GPP technical specification TS 29.305. Interworking between the 2G/3G networks and new fast growing 4G/LTE networks are becoming a high priority. Service providers are keen to maximize mobile reach by enabling services across LTE and existing networks and to ensure seamless service continuity for their subscribers.

BroadForward’s productized implementation of the TS 29.305 interworking function opens up immediate opportunities for vendors and operators to enable use cases such as LTE roaming and Wi-Fi offload, which require interaction with the HLR in the SS7 network for subscriber authentication, updating location and subscriber data, etc.

First ever Productized Signaling Interworking

BFX is the world’s first productized interface gateway which cross-connects systems in and between Mobile (3G, LTE, IMS) and Fixed (DSL, Wi-Fi) domains. It is designed to bridge different technologies and overcome incompatibilities of protocols such as Diameter, RADIUS, SOAP, LDAP and SS7 through configuration, not R&D. BFX speeds up time to market for new broadband services, limits cost and efforts, and simplifies network architectures.

Steven van Zanen, Head of Product Management and Marketing, said: “The availability of a complete MAP-Diameter Interworking function in BFX provides operators and vendors with an essential capability for many LTE and Wi-Fi services. In combination with the advanced interworking functions and wide range of supported protocols, BFX offers a future-proof, multi-purpose solution. Moreover, it offers a very cost-effective approach to solve integration issues. The extensive configuration options and built-in flexibility enable users to quickly adjust and customize interfaces to specific network environments, new use cases and future system updates.”

BroadForward is the leading expert in broadband interfacing software, delivering the fastest and most flexible connectivity and interworking solutions for 3G, 4G/LTE, IMS, Fixed and Wi-Fi network environments. Through its BFX product suite, BroadForward provides fast and flexible interworking, protocol conversion, aggregation, routing and enrichment functions for a wide range of protocols, such as Diameter, RADIUS, XML, SOAP, LDAP and SS7.