Cutting the wireless cord

During the fall of 1997, I signed up for cell phone service with Sprint PCS. I continued service with Sprint until the iPhone 3g was released, in the summer of 2008, at which point I promptly switched over to the dark side (AT&T). I have stayed a subscriber to AT&T largely due to Apple's exclusivity, but 6 weeks ago (June 30, 2012), I canceled my cell phone service with AT&T, and ended my run as a consumer of cellular service at 15 years. The experience so far has been surprising, as the lack of cell phone service has not hindered my life as much as I though it would. To be clear, I have kept my iPhone4 with me as a wifi connected device, which is always connected at home, at work, and at various free wifi hot spots that exist in a surprising number of locations. Additionally, the talkatone app along with google voice and google talk allow me to make and receive calls when in wifi range, though generally using iMessage and FaceTime is preferable if the other user has iOS. So while, I've cut the (wireless) cord, most of the services that were provided by AT&T (voice minutes, SMS, data) are still being provided. So far, life without AT&T has been great. When do I miss it? There are 2 scenarios, where AT&T's services have been missed. Scenario 1: You need to pick someone up. Once you arrive, how do you tell that person that you've arrived? This happened to me only once in the last 6 weeks. Luckily I found a free wifi hotspot at the workplace of the person I was picking up, so I fired off an iMessage, and life was normal. Scenario 2: Killing time when you are participating in an activity that is boring. This can happen often during such activities as shopping, riding in a train, etc. Again free wifi spots can often come to the rescue, but when those aren't available, I simply borrow my wife's iPhone. Other than those scenarios, I do not miss cell service at all. This might change if the Sprint, Verizon, or AT&T decide to innovate, or price their plans more cheaply, but until then, I'll be without cell service.