Difficult to know where to start here.
1. Public WiFi can be free, MacDonalds, Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, etc., but with public WiFi there is the danger of other people "overhearing" your WiFi conversations. With the iPod Touch this really does not present a real problem as long as you do not do your internet banking on it.
2. You do not pay for WiFi service, it is put out there by nice citizens, see above, and is available wherever there is a "hotspot"
3. At work, just connect to the WiFi with the password and you are good to go.
4. "Out and About", will depend on finding hotspots, see #1
5. The 3G/4G stuff has nothing to do with the WiFi you are talking about.
I know little to nothing about wifi technology and 3g/4g stuff. I was recently given an older ipod touch from a friend who didn't want hers after upgrading to a new one (its my first ever mp3 player). I am told it can use wifi and that its free (friend said she never paid for service with it) but I don't get how that works- what wifi are you usually connected to when out an about? I know where I work there is wifi I can connect to with a password but what about when I'm outdoors? Are random public connections safe? Even though she owned this device for a couple years my friend did not know the answers to these questions.

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