Yes you could only use them at hotspots like train stations and shopping malls. Technically they could receive calls, but because that would only work in range

Yes you could only use them at hotspots like train stations and shopping malls. Technically they could receive calls, but because that would only work in range of a hotspot, few operators offered this function. There was too limited radio spectrum to offer service across a wider area (reutilisation of cells not practical). In some cases the phones had a built-in pager to provide some form of reachability.