OPTIMIZING TRAFFIC IN A PACKET CORE NETWORK

In an example, there is disclosed a method of operating a long-term evolution (LTE) network device, including: communicatively coupling to a public data network gateway (PGW); providing an LTE function; receiving an incoming packet; looking up a destination of the incoming packet on a tunneling table including a tunneling endpoint identifier (TEID) and an internet protocol (IP) address; determining that the destination of the incoming packet is reachable via a route shorter than traversing the PGW; and routing the packet via the shorter route, comprising cutting through a tunnel for the packet. There is also disclosed an apparatus and a computer-readable medium for performing the method.