Cell phone service is spotty in Far West Texas. There's no service at the ranch."He called me back and he gave me a few more sentences until it broke up again. And that's how the conversation went for 20 minutes," the county judge recalled.
Source: http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/texas-news/scalia-to-have-autopsy-in-texas-according-to-state-law/42898331
Spotty != non-existent. And even your quote says it exists. also keep in mind the difference between sending voice and data, data is lower bandwidth and done with a protocol that verifies and resends data and is actually easier than talking. And as we should have all learned 15 years ago, there are things BEYOND cellphones for hinterland communications.