Presence-based communication involves providing certain communication functionality based on whether an access terminal is present at a presence domain. In some aspects, presence-based communication involves enabling communication between access terminals present at a presence domain. For example, a synchronous communication scheme uses presence information to enable efficient routing of user traffic via a femto cell instead of routing the traffic to the core network over the backhaul. In some aspects, presence-based communication involves using presence information to provide new services where communication is delivered to a user in the correct location context. For example, an asynchronous communication scheme delivers information to an access terminal only if the access terminal is present at a presence domain.