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.
From the phone company's view there are only data networks, voice networks are dying out. Voice is just another form of data.