According to experts, the wifi network in the Netherlands is overloaded and crashing frequently.

"We see congestion," said John Derksen, deputy director of the Telecom Agency, which is responsible for wireless communication across the Netherlands.

Too much wifi

The problem is that the wireless network is now almost too successful. Use of the 2.4Ghz frequency band is increasing because it can be used free of charge.

Now almost 70 per cent of all internet traffic goes via wifi, while data traffic is doubling every year.

Add this to the ever-increasing number of wifi hotspots in coffee shops, train stations, hotels and even on buses, not to mention municipalities, such as in the centre of The Hague, where it is offered for free.

According to Erik Fledderus, professor of Wireless Communication at TU Eindhoven, there are now so many hotspots that they interfere with each other.

Potential dangers

The Telecom Agency recently warned of "major problems" with companies that use the open, unprotected and therefore vulnerable wifi network.

In particular, they expressed concern over the steering system for the new driverless Amsterdam Noord-Zuid metro line and the handling of containers in the port of Rotterdam.

The agency is in talks with the port and the metro line because, as a spokesman said, you don’t what to think about what would happen if such a network failed because there was, for example, a jammer nearby.

Solution

The most common solution to congestion is to rebuild the network or create space on another band, such as the 5Ghz frequency, which is also free. That means, however, that devices such as routers and modems must be suitable for that frequency.

Furthermore, the use of these should not come at the expense of other users, such as weather stations or research satellites. That would obviously cause a whole new range of problems.

Source: NRC