I worked some decent DX on 20, 30, and 40 last night. So I guess if ham radio is dead, I must be having a seance or something. I worked the guy on St. Pierre and Miquelon and New Zealand and Brazil and some other good ones.
However I think the OP means that, if you want to communicate long distances, the cellular network is an easy way. But we hams like the fact that there is no infrastructure requrement, that it's from his house to my house and all we need is propagation and electricity. And the anticipation of unknown opportunity to work some random place in the wide world. Turning on the radio and hearing Kuwait or Mongolia or Indonesia or Cape Verde is a thrill for me, especially when they respond to my call.
The Brazilian I worked was for the second time, the first back in around 2000. And the New Zealand guy, our first contact was in 1977.
But it's a hobby and the bottom line is fun. If I work a new guy or an old timer, if it's good propagation or lousy, if it's a pileup or an easy contact, it's all fun. You can't match that feeling with a cell phone.