Why would anyone need a Radio Signal Scanner? Options

[Semerkhet]

I'm still in the process of cannibalizing the "On the Run" adventure and I noticed that two of the prime runners statted out as opposition each have a Rating 3 handheld Radio Signal Scanner. The two happen to be the hacker and the rigger. This got me to asking myself why the author(s) thought anyone, much less the hacker and rigger, would need one of these devices. I would think that anyone with a commlink could pinpoint the location of another active or passive node. I base this on the fact that in 2009 my iPhone has "assisted GPS navigation" that uses cell towers and wireless hotspots to supplement the satellite navigation to pinpoint my own location. So why wouldn't a commlink in 2072 be able to pinpoint signal sources using this sort of triangulation with the equivalent of a 0.99 nuyen app?

For hidden nodes I can understand the rationale that an actual Electronic Warfare skill and a sniffer program would be required to do the job....maybe. Even then, a hacker/rigger could easily do the job with their own commlink without needing a separate Radio Signal Scanner.

So, is this a case of the author(s) of On the Run not understanding the rules and giving their NPCs unnecessary equipment or something else?