Photos: A look inside France Telecom's Boston R&D labs

This quote represents the type of far-reaching research the lab aims to conduct.

Eric Dufresne, MD of the France Telecom Boston R&D Lab, said: "We're not trying to deliver standard products but investigate new and emerging technologies."

At the same time, the researchers' work is guided by what France Telecom's customers want.

Dufresne said: "We're very focused on what the customers expect from us - to do the right thing. We need to understand our customers' needs."