>>>>>>>I am a very low usage smartphone user and based on that Tracfone seemed to be my cheapest option but this has got me pretty torqued and I will be looking for another low cost phone provider.<<<<<<<<
Look into Virgin Mobile - they run on the Sprint network as they were bought by Sprint (Mr. Branson is no longer involved).
I have had it for the past 2 1/2 years and am quite happy with the service. We live 65 mi outside a major metropolitan area and the service is fine here but it is pretty rural just beyond us. There is still service there, including 3g but it can be spotty.
The have really inexpensive yet decent phones (like $20-35 )and two types of service - PayLo which is non-smart phone type and you can get a decent amount for $20 a month, for $30 you get 1500 minutes and text and a small amount of data (many of the models have a small screen and can access the internet).
Then there is the smart phone plan with a wide choice of phones - I do the unlimited Talk/Text/Data for $55
Most providers I notice offer either more minutes or more data in their packages but not both - that is always extra. So compared to everyone I know who is on Sprint, ATT, Verizon etc this is a good deal.