Dear Still Have Questions,

There are certainly several differences, but first and foremost, you need to look at your own Internet usage patterns. Do you mainly surf the Web while at home and at work, with a desktop computer? Or is your main device a laptop computer that you bring with you everywhere you go? On your laptop, do you view a lot of video and other large files while on the go?

For now, this network in the Baltimore area is really designed for people who are mobile, but local -- and who typically "consume" large amounts of online content, such as video, music, and gaming, and even video and voice chat. Keep in mind that Sprint hasn't yet rolled this network out to other big or even small cities yet -- but they do have a goal of covering about 200 million people across the U.S. within the next few years. So, the wider coverage will get there, eventually.

But, if you travel outside Baltimore a lot and absolutely must have wireless Internet for your laptop wherever you are (and not just at a Wi-Fi hotspot), then you may want to spend the extra money for a cellular card contract offered by any number of providers, including Verizon, Sprint and AT&T.

One big difference that people seem to be responding positively to is that Sprint's XOHM network doesn't force you to commit to signing up for a two-year contract for your wireless broadband card -- the way that the traditional cellphone carriers typically do with their cellular wireless card. These wireless broadband cards through cellphone carriers typically cost you more than $50 a month, and you're locked into a two year contract.

For Sprint's new WiMAX, you just go online, pick the amount of service (i.e. a one-day pass, mobile coverage or home coverage) and the kind of device you want to use to access the network (a "home" PC or a laptop).

If you choose home coverage, in order to use WiMAX at your house, the introductory price is $25 -- but bumps up to $35/month after six months. Think about what you pay now for monthly Internet broadband service at your home. It might be less. Consumers might find more value in the "pick two" option that Sprint's giving now, where you can get both your home computer and your laptop online for $50/month, for life, as part of a special promotion running through the end of the year. After Jan. 1, the price bumps up to $65/month.

The mobile WiMAX coverage -- for your laptop or any other portable device -- alone now costs $30/month. But that will bounce up to $45/month after the special ends Dec. 31. This is where Sprint thinks it can compete for your business. Sprint hopes to maybe get a piece of your home Internet usage, but it definitely wants a piece of your local, mobile Internet usage, whether it's on your laptop or on some other new gadgets hitting the market that are WiMAX-enabled.

-- Gus

P.S. Free municipal Wi-Fi across cities in the U.S. has been a mixed bag, not very fast, and marked by unfulfilled potential for various reasons (mostly economic), at least according to this Slate article and other coverage of the trend at online news sources. There are online sources that list where you can tap free Wi-Fi at local establishments, such as coffee houses. Try Googling "Free Wi-Fi Baltimore."