We've had Verizon for years. Whether at home or on the road we've had good service and used one of their air cards for a while too, which also worked well for our purposes. You can choose to have the data plan or go with a basic phone & not get it. We chose not to have the data plan because we have no one to text with and don't do web searches. However, while traveling having a data plan can be a great asset.
I'd do some shopping around, check out provider websites to see the coverage map,which may indeed help you decide if you know what areas you will be visiting.
