My understanding is the prices are high because there's an oligopoly. To have competition, all the major browsers would have to agree to let in more companies, and they're just not doing that.
Sorry, but that's incorrect.
The major browsers will let you in - you just have to pass all their audits, comply to all their regulations, and commonly have a WebTrust audit....which can set you back mid-$xx,xxx.
All browsers/OSs are accepting new roots all the time - check the Mozilla dev lists/Bugzilla and you'll see.
