Yes, that’s what I was asking — running a proxy SERVER on the iPad so other machines on your home LAN could access the internet via the 3G connection in the iPad.
As far as phone use goes, I guess I am unusual. I don’t feel compelled to have a phone with me all the time. I call or get calls maybe a dozen times a month, and paying $43 to Verizon for the privilege is really a waste. I currently do carry a cellphone all the time, but then again I also always have a book with me. So it’s not like carrying the iPad would encumber me any more than my usual routine.
You would not want to have the iPad as your “router” to the Internet. It would require it to be on power all the time, because playing that roll, especially for several networked computers would suck down its battery. That and tethering would most likely be a hardwire proposition. And why would you want to tether your iPad to your home/room/ function like that. That’s not what it was designed for and would end up being a waste.
I can appreciate what you’re wanting to do, but it is not practical for this device. That, and a cell phone these days is as much, or can be, a safety device as much as it a convenience. The ability to whip out a small phone and make a quick call, is not something you would be able to easily do with an iPad playing that roll.
Sorry if that’s not something you want to hear.