A Small Step Toward Better Connections Femtocells can help patch that nasty drop zone in your mobile office.

If you've ever struggled to use your cell phone in your office, Denise Cromwell feels your pain. Her office is in a metal building, nearly impenetrable for wireless signals.

"If it was a call I was expecting and didn't want to miss, I'd literally run out to the parking lot to take it," says Cromwell, vice president of operations at Accurate Elevator & Lift in Middleboro, Mass. "Now I can sit at my desk and take the call."

Cromwell's remedy? A femtocell, which is a signal booster about the size of a Wi-Fi router. Designed to cover no more than a few thousand square feet, femtocells are a new way for wireless service providers to plug coverage holes--with the help of customers like you.