Almost 40% of wifi connections in Dutch inner cities are poor because so many networks are competing with each other, according to a new report by the government’s telecoms agency.

Two years ago, 27% of connections could be described as poor, the agency is quoted as saying by the NRC.

Most domestic wifi services use the overcrowded 2.4 GHz bandwidth, which also hosts bluetooth appliances such as doorbells. In addition, the spectrum is becoming increasingly busy due to the popularity of live streaming.

The agency measured the quality of wifi connections in some 200 places. ‘In places where reception was bad, it is now worse,’ said spokesman Paul Wijninga in the NRC.

The problem is particularly acute in older houses – newer homes are better insulated against interference but the use of concrete also means they need to use more amplifiers to strengthen the signal away from the router.

The agency recommends people affected by poor reception to the less congested 5 GHz networks.