Exactly what I was thinking. I guess sometimes you have to prove something at wide range tower level before you ask to put blinky boxes in every ceiling throughout a whole country.
But it was working already - the alternatives then were
- landline
- landline + cell coverage in certain locations
For most people a "regular" cell phone was not an option at all. So this hybrid landline phone could have incrementally gained traction and out competed analog cell phones, but for a tiny watershed moment in history.
Also, this digital handset was light. Pretty cool tech. I think dense places like Singapore and Hong Kong could have ran with this tech.
