I am quoted in this opinion piece in CIO Insight entitled "Why WiFi Won't Fly."  The author's opinion is that public, for profit WiFi nets won't make it.  I'm not as negative as the quote in the article makes it sound.  However, I do not believe that 3 college students in a garage running a wireless network in my neighborhood offers the level of reliability and customer support I'm willing to pay for.  On the other hand, I've seen some plans for mesh networks and such in the public spectrum that I think could provide a reliable networking service, but we're not there yet.   For now, if you need wireless service on the road, use a wide area service like the one from Sprint or AT&T.  They work well and are much more widely available.