Authors: Siddhartha Kundalkar and Madhur Raj N. of Continuous Computing

Introduction
Local IP Access (LIPA) is the ability for an IP-enabled device to access a consumer's home-based local area network as well as the broader Internet directly using the air interface of a femtocell, or Home NodeB (HNB). Using LIPA allows for greater performance, innovative services that mesh mobile and home networks, and the offloading of traffic from the operator's packet core network which is ultimately destined for the Internet.

Enabling LIPA benefits mobile operators, subscribers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). For mobile operators, the ability to offer LIPA via the HNB would mean higher revenues by way of value added services without having to invest significantly in upgrading network infrastructure to cope with the higher speeds that such applications would demand. For subscribers, LIPA would mean faster and more secure on-the-move data transfer since traffic within the home network would not travel outside the subnet. Users could add customized high-speed applications like file transfer, video streaming and device sharing without involving the operator's core network, thus avoiding associated bottlenecks and possibly yielding lower data costs since the operator is not burdened. For ISPs, who might or might not be part of the same company as the mobile operator, LIPA would mean the ability to offer specialized high-value services with higher quality of service. Thus, the offering of LIPA for mobile devices via the HNB would present a win-win-win situation for all parties involved.

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