  General relativity has two fundamental problems that render it unsuitable for
tackling the gravitational field's quantization. The first problem is the lack
of a genuine gravitational variable representing gravitation only, inertial
forces apart. The second problem is its incompatibility with quantum mechanics,
a problem inherited from the more fundamental conflict of special relativity
with quantum mechanics. A procedure to overcome these difficulties is outlined,
which amounts to replacing general relativity with its teleparallel equivalent
and the Poincar\'e-invariant special relativity with the de Sitter-invariant
special relativity. Those replacements give rise to the de Sitter-modified
teleparallel gravity, which does not have the two mentioned problems. It can
thus be considered an improved alternative approach to quantum gravity.
