Always travel with a snowmachine in tow, except when the lead snowmachine has failed, in which case, well probably still tow the broken machine with the secondary machine, so you can repair it at your destination instead of in the middle of your return journey?
Travel by car, again while towing a secondary vehicle, because having a vehicle fail during a trip is clearly irresponsible?
I'm no expert in what living efficiently and safely in such a place is, but I know that in places like Svalvard, you are expected to be 100% independent and responsible for yourself because nobody is coming to your rescue. To the point that you shouldn't go out by yourself if you don't have a rifle that you know how to use, because you could run into polar bears or wolves.
So yeah, I think this guy most definitely could have been better prepared, don't ask me how, it's not the point. Clearly if your only means of survival when something goes wrong is your phone, you are unprepared to live in a place like that.
We don't know that he didn't have other means, just that he used this. And that he had appropriate clothes and firestarting materials.