There are plenty of pay-as-you-go carriers that do voice + data for $50/mo. I was on T-Mobile Monthly 4G, but their coverage is crappy. Straight Talk lets you do either AT&T or T-Mobile for $50.
Straight Talk, though, has some major limits on what you can do with the data connection (web only, no audio, no video), and they'll cut off your line if you do anything they don't like, or if you use more data than they expect you to use on their "unlimited" service. T-Mobile lets you do whatever you like with your data connection.
> 6. STRAIGHT TALK UNLIMITED TALK, TEXT AND MOBILE WEB ACCESS PLAN INTENDED USE: Straight Talk Unlimited Talk, Text and Mobile Web Access Plans may ONLY be used with a Straight Talk handset for the following purposes: (i) Person to Person Voice Calls (ii) Text and Picture Messaging (iii) Internet browsing through the Straight Talk Mobile Web Service and (iv) Authorized Content Downloads from the Straight Talk Mobile Web Store. The Straight Talk Unlimited Plans MAY NOT be used for any other purpose. Examples of prohibited uses include, without limitation, the following: (i) continuous mobile to mobile or mobile to landline voice calls; (ii) automated text or picture messaging to another mobile device or e-mail address; (iii) uploading, downloading or streaming of audio or video programming or games; (iv) server devices or host computer applications, including, but not limited to, Web camera posts or broadcasts, automatic data feeds, automated machine-to-machine connections or peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing; or (v) as a substitute or backup for private lines or dedicated data connections.
And I've seen plenty of reports of people having their service summarily disconnected for doing audio or video streaming. I've also seen many reports of people getting cut off after doing more than a hundred MB or so in a day, or after doing more than a few GB in a month. Not even close to an "unlimited" plan as advertised.
This is an interesting side effect of the U.S. carrier cartel. People simply don't know about the alternatives. Americans have accepted that Verizon and AT&T are the only acceptable carriers, and are no longer price-sensitive, just as long as it feels like they're getting a free iPhone every 2 years.
