I'm beyond skepticism. Like ads in general, I don't even listen anymore. 4G or anything tied to a cell phone or phone plan is useless to me. They aren't going to make it cheaper (a LOT cheaper if I'm to use it) in fact it will be more expensive since it will be promoted as faster with more ads with smiling faces.

Even at $60, tethering is out since that is on top of a phone plan that I don't and won't have. So for whatever price a cell plan is I can make a decent phone call (or not) and for $60 more I can get crappy VoIP and static pages? And then get dinged again for other services or roaming? That's not even close to being useful. WiFI even with limited coverage is much much better for the time being. I was surprised that at the restaurant I went to last night out in the boonies had full speed open wireless allowing me to use my N8 like I normally do including my own choice of dinner music. No extra cost.

The providers have it all backwards for my needs. they can offer all manner of complicated plans and services but the only thing I want is TCP/IP running anything of my choosing. I'll gladly take and prefer to have a bandwidth cap vs all the nonsense out there now. Up here there is an "unlimited data" plan provided you only do it on their locked phone running their locked down applications via a long term locked down contract. meh.

I don't believe the reasoning for text messaging prices. The voice call over cell is digital and a text message is less than 1 second worth of minimal data that doesn't have to be real time. That is why I've been running my own services for a long time and have kept my own domain for over a decade despite changing ISPs and moving to a different provider area. Now I'm doing the same with my phone number, run my own system and be independent of the transport provider or physical location. My phone number(s) ring the house phones like a landline and follows me to the office phone and wherever my NIT is. And data runs over the same system from my computers and NIT without some special plan allowing me to do it exactly like I want. And the cost is small compared to even just a single cell phone plan. My ISP still makes money.