"There are two key considerations in our study," said Phil Belanger, managing director at Novarum, a consulting firm for the wireless broadband industry. "First, can you use the service where you want it and, two, when you use it, does it have a snappy performance? Can you get your work done in a reasonable amount of time? We found a wide variety."

The firm conducted the tests in 14 cities with municipal networks in what may be the first systematic study of multiple municipal Wi-Fi systems, Belanger said.

The relatively small network in St. Cloud ranked as the best overall municipal network because it was consistently available throughout the service area, according to Belanger. Also, it was easy to use and free, making it a good value. Not surprisingly, St. Cloud had the highest density of access points throughout its service area, Belanger noted.

"Our conclusion is that [good service] isn't a technology issue," Belanger said. "It's a matter of how much you want to invest in infrastructure."

Specifically, many cities -- and the companies that were hired to deploy and manage the networks -- initially believed that a density of 20 access points per square mile would suffice. The access points are typically installed on utility poles.