What about sending the data via SMS? T-Mobile has a $3/month plan with 30 text messages. 30 * 160 = 4800 bytes a month. Could probably squeeze more data through with the 30 voice minutes but you'd have to do analog -> digital somehow I assume.
There's a lot of competition for the big-name companies. Think of it like applying to an Ivy League school. They can afford to be selective and completely arbitrary. It's the nature of competition. You can either a) learn to play the game better than everybody else or b) decide it's not a worthwhile game and select a different path.
It is, in a way. The current objective is to get BART to reach San Jose (and maybe Santa Clara) so that you can make a loop with Caltrain. It's hard to see BART ever replacing Caltrain (and eventually the high speed rail line) up the south bay/lower peninsula.