Since you mentioned Portugal: I was there (northern part, only as far south as Porto) in 1995 or so. It's the only place I've ever seen oxcarts on the road. I didn't have a cell phone so I don't know about phone service.

It was a very nice country and I'd love to go back, but it's still the "poor south" of Europe.

Maybe you can "leapfrog" on phone service, but there's no modernist replacement for clean water, sewage disposal, and reliable electric power.