Two frequency ranges, actually. 850MHz and 1900. Europe is 900MHz and 1800. From a frequency point of view, your assertion is a bit flawed.
I don't think debating the RF characteristics of a handset is laughable. Europe isn't perfect either. My time in London wasn't pain-free with respect to wireless use. (Not to mention the horrid food---but that's another discussion.)
The network and phone work together, so both aspects are important. Indeed, wireless carriers are hit and miss in quality in the U.S. The older networks that have been converted to GSM appear to have more issues than the ones that were designed with GSM in mind, from the ground up. Cingular has an issue with this in Los Angeles. We also have varying terrain that we must deal with.
I'm completely on-board with asking the providers to improve coverage---and they have. But they're not going to have a -30dB signal in every area of the country. So, it is necessary to find handsets that work in areas that might be hovering between -90 to -100dB.
By the way, it's not unusual that you would have better coverage in "the boonies." A city has all sorts of obstacles to block and reflect signals. In an open area, with a good tower (or set of towers), one will get better coverage. When I visit relatives in a rural area in the Midwest, I get a great signal from one tower that seems to service three counties. (I know there is more than one.) In cities, more towers are necessary to get the signal to the places where it is blocked---not to mention capacity.
Joel