The SAT phones probably didn't work because of a saturation of their use in that area. The other possibility is user error, but from what I gather, things have really advanced in the last 10 years that they nearly operate like a cell phone.

If you need communications out of a disaster area, use HF of some sort. Be it Amateur Radio, your licensed HF freq, or a company that provides them.

Be aware, both satellites and HF are affected by solar activity.

Regarding 911 service:
By FCC regulations, any cellphone that is capable of connecting to a cell phone network (i.e. it has a battery, and can transmit) its emergency calls must be accepted by any provider. Normally, your cell phone will connect to the tower with the strongest signal. My next thought is when you're in a vehicle, how does two competing cell phone providers route an active 911 call between towers?? So, if you're in an suburban/rural environment where cell phone towers are not close together, you might want to get a better antenna. Also, new phones must be capable of providing their location within 100 feet, accomplished via a GPS enabled handset, or differential location among one or more cellphone towers (This is Phase II E911 compliance). This all depends on the provider Just more info to help make a decision.