Patent ID: 8792345

Claim:
A method of providing access to a public packet network from a local environment, comprising: establishing a link between a network access device and said public packet network for transferring packets between said network access device and said public packet network; establishing a link between said network access device and one or more user devices within said local environment for transferring packets between said network access device and said one or more user devices; and establishing a link within said local environment between said network access device and one or more mobile devices capable of establishing wireless communication with said public packet network independently of said network access device, wherein said network access device routes at least some traffic flow between said one or more user devices and said public packet network via said one or more mobile devices to increase an effective bandwidth capability of the network access device, and wherein said network access device performs load balancing on the traffic flow to determine which packets are routed through said one or more mobile devices and which packets are routed directly to said public packet network.