The reality of new releases

Hi, I'm becoming ever more concerned that it's virtually impossible to find hosting companies offering a version of PHP above 4.3.10 or 4.3.11. My own excellent host cites "major compatibility issues" as the reason for them not performing their usual frequent upgrades. As a developer, I tend to think that "compatibility issues" are a result of poorly written software, but the reality is that if such issues go unresolved for a year there's a serious problem that needs to be addressed. If it's not, then the hosting community seems doomed to be grounded in 4.3.x, and there's little point in further 4.4.x releases. Doesn't it make sense for the PHP development community to identify, and attempt to address, the issues involved, rather than "blindly" announcing new releases that nobody can take advantage of? The situation has become absurd, and I would welcome your comments. Best regards, John