Users of the Google-supported municipal WiFi network in Mountain View, Calif., have chimed in on the service they're getting -- and the picture is about as rosy as a military update from Baghdad.

Writing on a Google message board, users responded to the question, "How many residents (or users) in Mountain View are benefiting from Google's WiFi Network?"

A sampling of the responses indicates that the network still has a long way to go:

Google technicians have posted two responses on the board, saying the system is "primarily an outdoor network," that signal strength depends largely on the power of users' antenna, and recommending that indoor users purchase "a high-power WiFi modem." The company also says it is deploying more nodes to erase dead zones on the network, and is looking at installing equipment at specific apartment complexes to boost the connection for apartment dwellers.

The question of the coverage in Mountain View is a ticklish one for the search giant because Google has promoted the deployment as a high-powered showcase for its municipal networking technology (the infrastructure in Mountain View is supplied by Tropos Networks Inc. ). As other cities around the country experience unexpected hiccups in deploying WiFi networks, the dissatisfaction in Mountain View could give pause to officials and users in other towns looking at muni networks. (See Mesh: Interference in the City?)

In other words, if Mountain View -- an affluent, relatively small, and extremely tech-savvy community in the heart of Silicon Valley -- can't get decent service, how will less favored cities fare?

That question is particularly relevant for San Francisco, which is still in contract talks with Google and EarthLink for a widely publicized muni WiFi system. (See SF Net to Go Public?)

"This," says Kimo Crossman, a leading critic of the Google-EarthLink proposal, "is why San Francisco should insist on a proof of concept before any contract is signed."

— Richard Martin, Senior Editor, Unstrung