[DB]

The "variable" is whatever it takes to make these other countries feel less inferior...

Cell phones were much more popular in the UK long before they were here as well. Why? The continual search for a phone that works... In other words, it was a necessity...

[toadthesecond]

Cell phones were much more popular in the UK long before they were here as well. Why? The continual search for a phone that works... In other words, it was a necessity...

Sorry but that's rubbish. In the last 25 years (at four different addresses) I've had one problem with the UK phone system - a cable break that was fixed within 24 hours of being reported. My ADSL service has been unavailable for around four hours in the last two years.