I really, really hope Europe won't become the same hell.
Every time I hear a story like this I feel like I read it as "run far from this madness!" and the local telecoms read it as "still some way to go, still some way to go".
In the end anywhere in the world there's never more than a few mobile providers, so I wouldn't be surprised as eventually they settled down in a nice oligopoly.
While Europe has mostly had good contracts, it is very easy for them to stop doing that. Because mobile technology is advancing so quickly the can always say they are keeping the same offer but charging you for the extra.
If Europe is saved, we'll have to thank the European Union, I think. Not sure how long it will last though.
First I should have been clear that by Europe I meant EU. And also I still think there's a lot of bad tariffs here too. I haven't checked in many countries but the 2-3 I've been to or checked had similar deals (though in Italy for example pay as you go is way more popular than contract, and in the UK is the opposite).
But I think some of the better deals may have been the result of regulatory pressure. For example every other year the EU commission sets lower prices for inter-state roaming.
If you're using your phone's internet a lot, it's probably better value to get a USB dongle or mifi device. You can get a 3GB/month contract from Three for £10 or £15.