I think widespread 3G is making the range less of an issue now. I can see providers - third party or not - using existing cellular networks offering data-only plans that make this far more feasible.
You'd just be exchanging your 'cell phone bill' with a 'data plan bill'. The phone company really doesn't care if you stick that SIM in a tablet or in a phone.
From the phone company's view there are only data networks, voice networks are dying out. Voice is just another form of data.
You would think they only view it as data networks!
Instead, Verizon for example, likes to charge per minute, text message, and media message if you are not on an "unlimited" (which is actually limited unless you are truly grandfathered in from an unlimited plan)
I think a lot of people would welcome a 'data plan bill' only and get rid of the nickel and diming
Of course they do. That's abusing peoples misunderstanding of how this all works under the hood. The whole notion of 'air time' makes 0 sense with a cell phone, the phone is off the air more than 90% of the time even while a conversation is in progress.
Widespread is one of those relative terms... finding a carrier that understands people use their phones outside of population centers has always been a challenge for me.
Fair point. I'll add that carriers also selectively drop speeds for certain mobile users based on arbitrary data caps and, in some circumstances, type of phone. Ex: My Blackberry inexplicably loses speed after the first week of the billing cycle.
data-only plans solve all issues, we don't need "talk" or "texts" to be included. Just carry around a "hotspot" (it get's hard when you have a family plan since it would be to expensive to buy multiple hotspots.
