No, the satellite phones worked anywhere as long as the phone itself was working properly. They were able to be used at Boulder and the chopper crash site and in between. Glenn worked on the broken satellite phone from the Ft. Irwin recon team with a satellite phone that was similar but not identical so that they could hit redial to try to contact anyone at Ft. Irwin to request help. The police band radios that were knocked out by the storm are different from the short range walkies talkies.