US Internet turned on Wi-Fi for another part of Minneapolis last month. According to USI, Minneapolis' Wi-Fi network is the fastest metropolitan wireless network in the country, faster than 3G, faster than DSL, and the largest in the world, covering 57 square miles.

Some people using the service are wondering where they got their data from. Customers living near lakes and in high-rise buildings complain that their reception is poor. Those who are receiving service are only getting around half of the advertised 1 Mbps speed. Trees can impede the signals, and as leaves grow back it will only get worse. Users with mobile devices, such as the iPod touch, are also having problems.

A large part of the city still doesn't have access to Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi transmitters must be mounted on lightpoles or similar structures, and in Calhoun-Isles and areas around the University it's been hard to get permission from various organizations (Minneapolis Parks and Recreation, Xcel Energy, and private property owners) to have enough poles to provide service.

USI Wireless say they are confident that they'll find enough poles and the whole of the city will be able to receive Wi-Fi.

Issues aside, I admire the city of Minneapolis for taking the initiative in building the network, and giving customers another option to connect to the internet.

Now, I live in St. Paul. Are we going to get Wi-Fi?