PARIS -- Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) and Telefónica in Germany today announced the deployment of femtocell technology to help boost 3G mobile broadband access and quality for Telefónica customers in Germany.

Alcatel-Lucent’s ‘plug-and-play’ femtocell solution for Telefónica in Germany includes femtocell gateways and modems that can be installed in enterprises and -- in general -- outdoor locations in high density areas. In particular, with mobile phones increasingly being used by office employees instead of traditional deskbound landlines, the introduction of femtocells in places of work will help Telefónica maintain service quality and connectivity for office workers and those in other indoor environments.

Telefónica is marketing the modems as “Signal Box by O2“. It is about the size of a typical Wi-Fi base station, and gets linked with a cable to any Internet connection and a power supply. The small design and powerful wireless capabilities will help Telefónica in Germany extend their network coverage in areas where buildings’ walls can degrade the quality of a mobile signal, or in areas too far from a traditional macro cell tower.

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU)