Need advice on changing service options

[bethmccafferty40]

My family currently has one cell phone line with At&t, one cell phone with another provider, and a usb internet device (5GB/month) with another provider.  My contract with the internet device is about to expire, and my kids are getting old enough for their own cell phones, so we are looking to combine everything to hopefully be more cost effective.  Because of where we live, our only internet options are either a usb device, mi-fi hotspot, smartphone with mobile hotspot app, or satellite.  On paper, it would be least costly to have one of our new phones be a smartphone with the 5GB tethering/hotspot option to serve as our in-home internet.  In the almost 4 years that we have had a 5gb/ monthly allowance, we have NEVER gone over our limit, so I know it would be enough data, but I was not sure if having it "coming from"  the smartphone would make it use more data, or if it is basically the same thing as the mi-fi or a usb device (plugged into a router to share).  I've been reading and hearing about many people having sudden and unexplainable overages with their mi-fi hotspots, so I'm rather nervous about trying that.  Since u-verse, wi-fi, dsl, and cable ARE NOT options, what is the best way to go?  Thanks!  :-)

[jamileh]

It sounds like a Mobile Share plan is a good choice for you, given what you want to do. 

While the amount of data for apps, streaming, or downloading doesn't change, smartphone users tend to use more data simply because there are so many things you can do with a smartphone. It's a good idea to use a tools like our Data Calculator (http://www.att.com/att/datacalculator/#fbid=6osESOtYHeJ) to estimate your use. 

Here's a link to internet devices which includes hotspot devices: http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/devices/internetdevices.html

There are customer reviews available and I encourage you to check them out. 

I hope this helps!