If you’re needing to communicate while traveling, especially if you’re not always in a populated, developed area, a cell phone is more than a convenience, it’s a necessity. I’ve done away with the land line and the cable, can get what I want and need from internet and cell phone. Doing away with the cell phone, well, I just can’t see that working for me or for too many others, to be honest. Internet would need to be nearly universally accessible, even in fairly remote locations. That means internet via cell signal. The speed of internet via cell signal is not all that great. I use it in a pinch on the phone. At home it doesn’t cut it. So, I have both.
It wasn’t a necessity before people started taking it for granted. You probably don’t want to know how I feel about cars. :-)
If you have an Android or iOS device with 3g or 4g capabilities, you can use the free MagicJack app to make and receive phone calls without wifi if you subscribe to a data plan. I pay $15.00 a month for data for my iPad mini.
You can also get the newer MagicJack for home that now works through your network not requiring that a computer be on all the time, just Ethernet to your router. A hundred bucks gets you the MagicJack and 5 years of service.
Almost all McDonalds have free wifi as do any smart competitors.