Bunsbeek, Hoeleden and Neerlinter belong to the Flemish ‘Bermuda Triangle’ of the mobile phone signal: “A little 4G is already a small miracle” | Kortenaken

Ingrid Vandijck has a hair salon in Hoeleden, near Kortenaken. The lack of a strong cell phone signal makes her job a lot more difficult. “When a customer tries to call me on my mobile to make an appointment, I really have to stand in a corner of my hair salon. “I can no longer move because the signal disappears,” she says.

But there is also not much mobile internet here. Residents are already satisfied if they have a little bit of 4G. “I only have one line of connection,” says a local resident. “But I am already very satisfied that I have some 4G. That is a small miracle in Hoeleden.” Local pharmacist Arne Dereze is also annoyed by the poor connection. “People should be able to pay with Payconiq here, but that is difficult here. 4G is almost non-existent here,” he says. “Sometimes people even go back outside and try to reconnect in the parking lot, but that often doesn’t work. It is a difficult birth here without mobile internet.”

Mayor of Glabbeek, Peter Reekmans (Village Party), believes that the operators are failing. “We are in 2024. Internet and telephony are utilities, just like gas, water and electricity. You should be able to offer that to people,” he says. “In addition, prices are also rising, but the service here is getting worse and worse. It cannot continue like this.”