Responding to coverage and performance problems with municipal wireless networks being deployed around the country, BelAir Networks will begin guaranteeing the performance of networks built with its equipment, the company said Tuesday.

In working with service providers and systems integrators, the Kanata, Ontario, maker of Wi-Fi equipment said it will certify specific designs for outdoor networks going forward. If performance or coverage fails to meet the specified levels once the network is complete, BelAir will provide additional access points free of charge. Whether the service provider or network installer will charge for additional setup is up to those companies, said BelAir senior VP of marketing Jim Freeze.

Many early muni Wi-Fi deployments, including networks in Tempe, Ariz., and Mountain View, Calif., have been dogged with complaints about spotty coverage and low performance. The BelAir service-level agreement plan is a direct response to such missteps.

"As cities move forward with service providers, the game has changed in that cities that are now deploying and putting RFPs have learned from the mistakes of the earlier deployments," Freeze said, "and they're now including stringent requirements for coverage, capacity, and end-user performance and experience."

The BelAir promise comes at a time when the municipal Wi-Fi industry, which has enjoyed unfettered growth over the last few years, is at a crossroads. Many cities are now deferring or slowing down new citywide wireless projects, and two of the biggest builders of such networks, EarthLink and MetroFi, have both said they are reviewing their current projects and the business models behind them.

"The market is maturing, in that previously we've gotten the sense among many cities in the past couple of years that the free business model is going to proliferate, and they're going to be able to frankly get something for nothing," Freeze said. "That notion has dissipated. And that's very healthy for industry."

BelAir itself is among a crop of startup Wi-Fi equipment vendors, including Strix Systems, Tropos Networks, and SkyPilot, that are trying to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive market now seeing the entry of much larger tech firms, including Cisco Systems and Motorola. BelAir closed a $21 million "D" round of funding last fall, and while he declines to detail the company's finances, Freeze said, "We feel comfortable that our current revenue growth, along with the money we have in the bank, will get us to cash-flow positive."

BelAir equipment has been used in several high-profile municipal projects including London and Toronto, where a seven-month free trial period attracted more than 43,000 users, according to network owner Toronto Hydro Telecom.