I'm one of those tech-snobs who spontaneously combusts into conniptions if there isn't at least one piece of gadgetry attached to my hand at all times. So, when a story like "Washington, D.C. will be first for free mobile TV" comes along, my heart begins to flutter before my brain begins to chant "Must have now!"

In a nutshell, the new municipal service would allow mobile devices like your cell phone or laptop to receive live digital TV broadcasts. At this point, the only luck you'll have in replicating that kind of service is signing up for something like Sprint TV which gives you access to a few hand-picked network programs, a handful of cable network programming, and a bunch of filler stuff like "Crackle" and "Ah." (Oh, did I mention that it costs $15 a month?)

Obviously, carriers like Sprint and Verizon, who have their own for-profit services, aren't going to lift a finger in making this thing successful, but with the backing of politicians and programmers, it looks like just over 20 cities are going to get some form of the broadcast in the upcoming months.

Free stuff? Fine. I'm sold. But, here are some things that leave me questioning exactly how this will work:

1 - Hardware. You will need a device that is able to grab over-the-air transmissions. That means that your precious iPhone will be useless and that you will need to go and buy yet another device just to watch TV. (Count me out if this runs you more than $100.) Paid services on the Sprint Network stream directly to your device and do not require additional hardware outside of the cell phone you carry around everyday.

2 - Programming. Sure, $15 will net you some questionable programming on for-profit services, but wait till you hear the blockbuster lineup for the free service: CBS, NBC, PBS and Ion and one independent station owned by Fox. Yeah, not really much there to get excited about. This will never happen, but why not propose it anyway: Get all of these cable companies together into one room, propose a profit-sharing venture of some sort, and allow home subscribers to access cable channels, like ESPN and Spike, on-the-go for a moderate monthly fee. One can only dream.

3 - Who's Paying? It seems absurd to think that with the sky falling all around us, the only breakthrough we could possibly make amidst the destruction is being able to bring the brain-numbing ability of television to the bustling masses. With that said, who's flipping the bill for getting the ball rolling on this? At the risk of sounding like an old man threatening the young'ins with his mahogany cane, it's obviously going to be taxpayers.

We won't know more about how this will work until the switch is finally flipped later this year. So, stay tuned.