CanuckExpat, I was tempted by the Mobley and could have bought it, but just as you, I shy away from locking myself into monthly expenses, even if it's just 20 bucks.
Here is how I have hacked data accesibility with ATT for free after initial investments (and after downgrading all the free trial stuff etc.) using Freedompop:
Get one
International Hotspotneeds to be GLOBAL one, not the regular one. The Global one only comes with 200 MB data and then you can add 500 by adding friends
So that's 700 MB for FREE every month, once you jump through a few hoops (working on a blog post on this, but happy to answer questions until then.)
That hotspot runs between 20-30$ initial investment depending on what type of sale they run.
They will usually also offer as an add on or seperate deal a Global SIM
Global 3-in-1 SIM Kit Buy 2 or 3 of those. Sometimes adding an extra one costs only 1 cent, sometimes its 25 cents or 99 cents.
All these will be on the ATT network, sometimes roaming with TMO. They will work internationally (I personally have not tried Canada, but can confirm several European countries).
You need to make sure you add your Freedom friends (easy to do, there's even lists on the Freedompop forums or in various other places) and you downgrade all the free trials they throw at you.
Once you have that you'll have 700 MB for your Hotspot and 700 MB per sim. Once you get to your datalimit, just switch out sim.
Rince repeat. Make sure you don't go over, because their data per MB is not a good deal. But it's not the end of the world if once you are over by a few MB, they charge incrementally by MB.
I have been enjoying free ATT coverage with this method since December last year. I wish I had gotten a couple more sims and will probably order another two, once we have a mailing address again this winter.
Also, if you can, order those on SEPARATE email addresses. Then you technically have separate accounts and can become your own FREEDOM friend and send yourself data back and forth (up to 100 MB per billing cycle).
Of course if you stream a lot etc, then 2-3x 700 MB is not much. But I don't stream, I skype with my folks (without video) and do a bit of forum reading.
My
Sprint Hotspot only works in bigger cities, so I don't use it all that much. But when I bought it, I did not know that the International one is with another carrier. The Sprint has 500 MB plus 500 MB after the friend bonus, so I went with more data. Know better now.
In summary: If you are willing to jump through a few hoops and are reasonably organised you can get ATT for free after initial purchase.
I'd be happy to answer questions and help you with further resources to get the friends. It's all a lot easier than it sounds, trust me.
PS. the links are my referral links, if you choose to use them, thanks, but you certainly don't have to.