Yeah, meanwhile in the united states we have innovation that is meaningless because the popular network standard is technologically five years behind.
As for innovation, if anything I think GSM popularity in America and Europe is hindering it more than anything else - japan and korea are home to the biggest cellular companies, with japan favoring CDMA-2000 and South Korea using CDMA. Neither country has GSM networks. Europe and the US are clinging to outdated standards either out of a fear of change or the idea that being able to switch a sim card between phones is massively more convenient than just punching in an MSID on your carrier's website. Sure, you could argue GSM is big in the middle east and africa, but the middle east and africa have never been huge embracers of modern technology and innovation, have they?