$250 is a lot for three phones. Check current rate plans at the link below. If you are paying overage for voice, find a better plan. If you are paying text messaging as you go, that can really add up. Check with your carrier for a bundle... some have unlimited bundles for family plans. Don't use 411 on your phone... it is outrageously expensive.
As for the bigger issues... cell phone service is a lot more complicated than listening to the radio. Service has greatly improved in recent years, while prices have dropped dramatically.
As for other countries, many of them never developed a landline/housephone system so the cell system was the first nationwide phone system. Also, those countries usually picked a single standard technology, while we left it up to the market to develop/implement technology. This has created a bit of a hodgepodge.