Having a few years under my belt, and having traveled to Europe many, many times over the years I can tell you the basic reason Europe has a superior wireless carrier system to the US is: Europe needed it more. In the wired phone world, for me, going to Europe back in the day was like going to a third world country. The US had (and still has, if you want it) universal wired access to even the remotest areas at prices that even the poorest people could afford. Twenty years ago >99% of American households had wired phones. Contrast that with Europe, where service in many developed countries (England and France among them) was spotty, poor quality, and frequently missing even in urban working class homes.
In contrast to Europe, wireless in the US has historically been a convenience, not a necessity. Most people of my parents generation (over 80's) either don't bother with it or have a little-used phone they share solely "for emergencies". That's changing, of course, but I think that's been the core of the difference.
