5G SA Integration
That Respects
Your
Existing Investments.
MARBEN InterWorkingFunction (IWF) lets you launch 5G SA while keeping your existing 4G billing, authentication, and policy systems fully intact. No rip‑and‑replace. No disruption. Live in days. A solution your CFO will appreciate far more than the costly, full‑stack upgrades pushed by major billing vendors.
Millions in 4G Infra.
A 5G Deadline Looming.
The race to 5G is on for MNOs, MVNOs, and Private Dedicated Networks. However, with billions invested in 4G infrastructure, you can’t simply flip a switch overnight. You need a bridge.
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Rip-and-Replace Costs Are Prohibitive
Full core upgrades require years of planning and millions in CAPEX - not an option for most operators.
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Vendor Lock-In Slows Migration
Equipment vendors push proprietary upgrade paths. You're trapped paying premium for basic compatibility.
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Protocol Mismatch Blocks 5G Revenue
Your 4G OCS speaks Diameter. Your 5G CHF speaks HTTP/2. Without a bridge, you can't charge 5G subscribers.
Meet MARBEN IWF Gateway
A carrier-grade, vendor-neutral Interworking Function (IWF) that plugs between your existing 4G stack and new 5G Core - translating protocols in real time, with zero service disruption.
Think of it as a universal translator for your telecom network. Your legacy nodes keep running as-is. MARBEN handles all the protocol translation in the middle - invisibly, at carrier speed.
- • No changes to existing OCS, PCRF or HSS
- • Works alongside any vendor's hardware
- • Live in days via SaaS - not months via integration
- • 99.999% HA backed by in memory clustering
- • Bidirectional: 4G → 5G and 5G → 4G support
- • Diameter, XML/HTTP, HTTP/2 REST - all covered
How MARBEN Bridges Your Network
Your 4G network sends messages in Diameter (or SS7). Your 5G Core only understands HTTP/2 REST. MARBEN sits in the middle and translates - instantly, reliably, at carrier scale.
Your 4G gateway sends a Diameter credit-control request. MARBEN instantly converts it into a 5G HTTP/2 NChf charging call. Your 5G Core never needs to know the difference.
Your 5G SMF sends an NChf HTTP/2 REST request. MARBEN converts it to Diameter Ro OR XML over HTTP - whichever format your legacy OCS understands. Zero OCS changes needed.
One Bridge for Every
Critical Interface
Six production-ready gateways covering charging, policy, subscriber management and legacy 3G - all supporting bidirectional translation with dual-mode Diameter or XML/HTTP output.
Your legacy billing system speaks Diameter Ro. Your 5G Core speaks NChf HTTP/2. MARBEN translates between them - in both directions - preserving every credit-control session.
Keep your existing PCRF running while connecting to 5G PCF. Full Gx policy session bridging with Diameter or XML/HTTP reverse support for legacy PCRF nodes.
Bridge IMS media policy rules from P-CSCF/AF to 5G PCF. Reverse Npcf?Rx translation includes XML over HTTP output for legacy media nodes - zero AF changes.
Connect your MME/HSS to 5G UDM without replacing a single node. Maps all S6a subscriber authentication and location operations to 5G's Nudm interface.
Translate Diameter Sh user data operations to 5G Nudm/Nudr REST. Full bidirectional support with Diameter or XML/HTTP back to legacy HSS - any existing AS works unchanged.
Going even further back - bridge SS7-based CAMEL and MAP from 3G networks into 4G Diameter. Complete 3G→4G→5G migration path with one vendor-neutral suite.
Complete Gateway Portfolio
Every gateway supports bidirectional translation with dual legacy protocol output - Standard Diameter or XML over HTTP - across all interfaces.
| Gateway | From (Legacy / 4G) | To (5G Core) | Domain | Legacy Output | SaaS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ro ↔ NChf | Diameter Ro | NChf (HTTP/2) | Charging | Diameter OR XML/HTTP | ☁ SaaS Live |
| Gx ↔ Npcf | Diameter Gx | Npcf (HTTP/2) | Policy Control | Diameter OR XML/HTTP | • Available |
| Rx ↔ Npcf | Diameter Rx | Npcf (HTTP/2) | Policy Control | Diameter OR XML/HTTP | • Available |
| S6a ↔ Nudm | Diameter S6a | Nudm (HTTP/2) | Subscription | Diameter OR XML/HTTP | • Available |
| Sh ↔ Nudm/Nudr | Diameter Sh | Nudm / Nudr | User Data | Diameter OR XML/HTTP | • Available |
| CAMEL/MAP ↔ Diam. | CAMEL (CAP) / MAP | Diameter Ro/S6a/Sh | 3G → 4G | SS7 / SIGTRAN | • Available |
Skip the Infrastructure.
Go Live in Days.
Stop waiting months for hardware procurement and integration cycles. MARBEN's IWF Gateway is available as a fully managed SaaS - starting with Ro ↔ NChf. Subscribe, configure, and you're live.
- Ro ↔ NChf Gateway• SaaS Live
- High Availibility Cluster• 99.99% HA
- TLS 1.3 Encryption Layer• Secured
- Auto-Scale Engine• Ready
- Gx / Rx / S6a / Sh Gateways• Available
- CAMEL/MAP → Diameter• Available
Deploy the Way
Your Business Demands
Whether you need full cloud, on-premise control, or a hybrid approach - MARBEN fits your operational model, not the other way around.
Shared / Managed SaaS
Fully managed, cloud-hosted gateway. MARBEN runs, monitors, scales and maintains everything. Your team just connects and uses it. Fastest path to production - live in days.
Private SaaS / On-Premise
Deploy MARBEN within your own data centre or private cloud. You maintain data sovereignty and network isolation while still benefiting from MARBEN's carrier-grade software stack.
Dedicated SaaS
Single-tenant, dedicated MARBEN Gateway cluster in a public or private cloud region of your choice - fully isolated from other customers, fully managed by MARBEN.
Why Global Carriers
Choose MARBEN
Not just another middleware vendor. MARBEN is purpose-built for the realities of real-world network migration - not just the theory.
Truly Vendor-Neutral
MARBEN plugs in non-intrusively alongside any existing vendor's hardware. No proprietary dependencies. No hidden upgrade paths. Works seamlessly with Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei & more.
- ‣ Works with Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei & more
- ‣ Plugs into existing rack infrastructure
- ‣ Zero dependency on core vendor APIs
Unmatched Protocol Flexibility
Every MARBEN gateway supports dual-mode legacy output - Standard Diameter or XML over HTTP - whichever your existing OCS, PCRF, or HSS demands. No OCS changes ever needed.
- ‣ Diameter Ro, Gx, Rx, S6a, Sh supported
- ‣ XML over HTTP for any legacy node
- ‣ Full 3GPP-compliant JSON ↔ AVP mapping
Carrier-Grade High Availability
Powered by HA in-memory session replication across an active-active cluster. 99.999% uptime SLA. Hot failover with zero packet loss - because billing downtime is never acceptable.
- ‣ HA distributed session cluster
- ‣ Active-active HA topology
- ‣ Hot failover with zero packet loss
Real-World Scenarios
MARBEN Solves Today
From US number porting to satellite communications - MARBEN's protocol expertise extends across critical telecom domains.
Legacy NPAC ↔ 5G Core Number Porting
US carriers migrating to 5G must keep NPAC-based number portability working while onboarding 5G subscribers. MARBEN bridges legacy SS7/Diameter LNP queries to 5G UDM HTTP/2, ensuring seamless number porting without NPAC replacement. Subscribers keep their numbers. Carriers keep their SLA.
Protect Your OCS Investment During 5G Rollout
Launching 5G services but still running a Diameter OCS? MARBEN's NChf →Ro gateway lets your 5G SMF charge sessions against your existing OCS - either as Diameter Ro or XML over HTTP. Your OCS team changes nothing. Your 5G subscribers get billed. Immediately.
ASN.1 Protocol Translation for Next-Gen Networks
Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) and satellite communication protocols rely on ASN.1-encoded messages that legacy and 5G nodes can't natively exchange. MARBEN's deep ASN.1 expertise enables gateway solutions that decode, translate and re-encode these messages across 5G NR, NTN satellite, and V2X stacks.
Migrate at Your Own Pace - Without Disruption
With MARBEN's full suite (CAMEL/MAP→Diameter→NChf), operators can run 3G, 4G and 5G simultaneously - bridging each generation incrementally. No big-bang cutover. No service disruption. No subscriber impact. Migrate one segment at a time, on your own timeline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about seamlessly bridging your 4G Evolved Packet Core (EPC) to 5G Core (5GC) using the MARBEN IWF Gateway.
What is a 5G Interworking Function (IWF) Gateway?
Do I need to replace my existing PCRF or HSS to launch 5G SA?
How does MARBEN bridge a 4G Online Charging System (OCS) to 5G Core?
Is the MARBEN IWF Gateway available as a SaaS deployment?
Which telecom protocols does the MARBEN Gateway support?
Ready to Bridge Your
4G Stack to 5G Core?
Talk to a MARBEN protocol expert and get a tailored interworking gateway solution designed for your network's specific needs. Most pilots go live within 1 week.
