Most consumers don't actively make use of their data connection in the way that someone so proactively following LTE would. Over here on the IL side the major cities (Belleville/Fairview) do not have WiMax to fall back on. We're strictly 3G. People still buy the 4G devices for higher build quality. In lower income areas such as this, network speed/quality isn't always on the top of their list. It's price of plans + unlimited so they don't have to dedicate time to tracking their use. The way the mobile industry is going, the transition away from contract to prepaid is inevitable. Unfortunately, this will probably take a hit down the road on the quality of the hardware. Good news is, situations like this won't happen. Jump around to the best of the best when you want, expediting the competitiveness of a company as they can't hold them under their power for two years.