"The network in Tempe, Ariz., is, to my knowledge, the biggest network up and running," she said. "I've heard conflicting reports. But keep in mind that it's like any wireless technology, and all wireless has issues. You walk down the street in the financial district of San Francisco and there are [cellular] dead spots. People don't expect perfection."

More important, Vos said, is that the technology will improve over time and can be upgraded. For example, the plan in Philadelphia is to eventually upgrade to mobile WiMax when that technology becomes viable, she noted.

What the future holds

The incumbent telecom operators initially lobbied hard, but with limited success, for state laws limiting the ability of municipalities to sponsor networks. Those efforts have since died out, Vos said.

"I wouldn't say [the incumbents] have given up, but they realize they couldn't win on a state-by-state level and have taken it up on a federal level as part of the rewrite of the [federal] Telecom Act," Vos said. "That's temporarily shelved for now, so they're re-evaluating."