Reserve the cellular data service for when there is no WiFi available to you. It is recommended to use WiFi whenever it's available (on-campus, in a hotel, or at a conference for example). This will help you to avoid exceeding the maximum allowed data transfer on your monthly cellular plan and save on data service charges. If you have cellular data service, when you are in a location with WiFi, you can use the iPad Settings to temporarily turn off your cellular data service and use a WiFi connection instead. This means these iPad models will work well in most locations globally that have cellular service. The cellular data service models of the iPad with Retina Display and iPad Mini (latest versions of iPad) are designed to access a large frequency spectrum. If your iPad is a personal device, you can choose your own carrier as you wish. Please note: AT&T is NOT available as a carrier for Amherst College provided iPads, the College has a contract with Verizon as our cellular service provider. Depending on the carrier, the iPad model, and your location, you may have various cellular plan options including in some cases the choice of 3G or 4G cellular data service. The cellular service plan for the device is billed through a carrier, in the case of Amherst College the carrier is Verizon. If you exceed your monthly data transfer limit, there are overage charges which can be very expensive. The higher your data transfer limit, the higher the monthly fee. There is a fee to purchase the iPad device and also a monthly fee for the cellular data service with a monthly data transfer limit. IPads enabled with cellular data service work in a similar way to cell/mobile phones. you're going to use Apps that don't require Internet access to work (e.g., music training/composition, drawing, some games, writing, reference, etc.).
you need to shoot photos/video with the camera but can store them on the device and wait to download them until you have WiFi access.you want to spend as little as possible on the iPad itself and you do not want to pay the monthly cellular data service.