Xohm delivers WiMax 4G speed in Baltimore

It was in the Italian Job, a Hollywood action flick starring Charlize Theron, who was streaming live to a laptop computer. Speed: about 3 megabits a second. Sprint is about to find out. Baltimore recently became the first city in the USA to go live with WiMax. Short for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, WiMax is a fourth-generation (4G) wireless technology that can turn whole cities into one big hot spot. Sprint has an even grander vision: It wants to turn the entire USA into a mobile surfing zone. The mobile data network is designed to cater to the needs of mobile laptop users, not cellphone users, for a fee. Because the speeds are so fast — 10 megabits or better, potentially — it could easily be used as a replacement for DSL or cable modem service in the home and office. The service is currently marketed as "Xohm," Sprint's WiMax brand name. That will probably change after the Sprint/Clearwire merger closes.