To be fair, I had the same feedback before I started (about the first few episodes being underwhelming) but it does get better and darker somewhat.
I think you're thinking too much about phones and cell towers especially considering Beck probably doesn't give a shit that much about it. It seemed to be an on-off thing with Benji so she probably wasn't that bothered, especially with Joe on her mind.
Peaches is better when she doesn't speak