high-speed Internet connection

AT&T Inc., the country's largest wireless carrier, is testing a technology that can improve the signal available to cell phones in subscribers' homes, and plans to make it available in a trial market next year.

John Stankey, chief executive of AT&T's Operations division, said Tuesday that the company is testing so-called "femtocells" in employees' homes, and is looking at a broader, city-sized test with customers in the second quarter.

Adam and Anita Paulk had a nice home outside Temple, Texas, with a big yard and a 10-minute commute to his job. But in Internet terms, the house was on Slow Lane. There was no high-speed Internet connection available.

So the Paulks pulled up stakes in 2005 and built a home in a new subdivision. It was a little further from his job, but at least it could get broadband.

"It was worth it, not to hear my husband bitch about the connection anymore," Anita Paulk said.

"Agent at home" is more than a new buzz phrase or job title that takes business casual dress to an extreme level. Instead, it is becoming a key asset in the contact center industry that is increasing overall contact center performance, agent productivity, and enhancing hiring options for the industry.

T-Mobile USA is breaking new ground. On July 2, the U.S. wireless calling division of Germany's Deutsche Telekom is introducing home-phone calling for as low as $10 a month, a fraction of the price charged by traditional phone companies including AT&T and Internet-calling providers such as Vonage. Analysts have said T-Mobile's @Home is really targeted at users of rival wireless calling services.