Alternative protocols for femtocell backbone security

One of the relatively new services presented by mobile operators is a femtocell. A femtocell is a network located at the residential premises helping to extend the mobile signal to places which are difficult to cover. Furthermore, it enables the mobile operator to provide attractive service to the customer since the femtocell is connected to the mobile operator network using an IP based backhaul link over the public Internet. To ensure appropriate security over the untrustworthy environment, an IPsec tunnel is established between the femtocell access point and the provider´s security gateway located at the core network perimeter. IPsec itself wasn´t originally proposed to carry small voice packets resulting in a redundant overhead. This paper examines other security procedures, such as Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Datagram TLS (DTLS) protocols.