He should make a few trips to Africa.
Some MNO base stations are powered by solar and only operate a few hours a day, sometimes a full day and sometime a partial night (depending on batteries, if they have).
Not everyone has electricity, so people walk to town to charge their phones at spaza shops for a few minutes/hours. Fiber/POTS is non existent.
Outside of larger town and cities, reception is non-existent or spotty at best. You might get reception near a highway.