The operation seems fairly basic to me.
Confirmation of message received. If there are comm problems, you swap out the ground-based VHF. I'm fairly sure the cost of one of those bits is but a small fraction of just one application of the de-ice juice. Also, I've seen handhelds on the tarmac for other purposes. Why not here?
I am not implying we're all perfect by the way. Accidents/incidents are bound to happen given the tens of thousands of movements daily.