But aren't the users who need cross-continental/cross-country service the edge case? I would gladly trade-off inferior quality on a national scale for superior quality locally.
I guess if you enjoy getting off a plane and having no way to contact anyone, find a map to your hotel, and so on, this is a good tradeoff. For me, it's a terrible tradeoff.
Dont get me wrong I love having the capability you describe, but outside of the HN community I have to believe that the greater majority of users do not travel enough to justify national plans.