A:AnswerWith T-Mobile, you have a choice of a month to month recurrent billing for a specific amount of data or you can buy a data card with a specific MB/GB amount that lasts as long as when you use up the data amount.
A:AnswerAs I understand it you buy the equipment and then either pay as you go (or pre-pay) for a set period or buy into a monthly plan.
Either way you OWN the piece and (like a cell phone) you pay to use it. If you don't use it for a month or three, no big deal if you're on the pre-pay plan.