SCEF is essential for NB-IoT deployments. Are you ready? Get started today.
If you are investing in NB-IoT services, adding 3GPP SCEF capabilities to your network will soon become essential. It provides efficient data transfer for low-power devices, while protecting the device fleet from threats. How can managed SCEF capabilities accelerate your NB-IOT business?
If you are considering launching IoT services using licensed spectrum, such as NB-IoT, then you need to think about more than simple connectivity. You have to be prepared to manage and coordinate data flows from remotely connected devices, while protecting your network from external threats.
The Service Capability Exposure Function, or SCEF, was introduced by 3GPP to solve this problem. It’s a new functional entity that is intended to provide a single control point for coordinating data flows and connectivity to remote IoT devices across NB-IoT radio interfaces. The SCEF then provides interaction with IoT applications via RESTful API interfaces.
In addition, the SCEF uses a specialised form of data transfer, Non-IP Data Delivery, or NIDD. Because NB-IoT devices will often be deployed for years and have very low volumes of data transfer (to avoid excess power consumption), it’s not appropriate to use a full IP protocol stack for data communications. NIDD eliminates the need for IP transfer using, instead, Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signalling to enable data transfer. This reduces power consumption requirements and helps ensure that IoT devices can operate cost-effectively for long periods of time.
While some MNOs have already launched NB-IoT services, few have actually deployed the SCEF in their networks yet. However, if they wish to really scale their IoT offers, the SCEF is a crucial function that is of fundamental importance. Put simply, you cannot capitalise on the potential scale of commercial IoT services without protecting deployments and facilitating low-bandwidth data transfer via NIDD. To achieve this, they need to begin deploying SCEF solutions in their networks.
That’s why Partitionware has launched a unique managed SCEF gateway solution. It means that MNOs (and MVNX providers) can quickly capitalise on a SCEF function and avoid the integration challenge of deploying directly in their network. They can take advantage of a fully managed solution, reducing the cost and effort required to add SCEF capabilities to their NB-IoT service, helping them to grow more easily and to promote new security capabilities to their customers.
So, if you are investing in NB-IoT services but have yet to add the security and data transfer capabilities enabled by the SCEF, you should talk to Partitionware and see how you can get started – today. Taking advantage of the Partitionware managed SCEF solution, you can accelerate time to market, strengthen your proposition – and support the NB-IoT service growth you need to drive revenue.
If you would like to quickly and easily add SCEF capabilities to your NB-IoT services, why not get in touch?
