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If you want superfast broadband this Christmas DON'T decorate the tree.

That's the warning from telecom experts Ofcom, who's research suggests wireless broadband may not be working as well as it could in nearly six million UK homes.

According to Ofcom, slow speeds are often caused by interference from other electronic devices, such as a microwave oven, baby monitor, a lamp – or even Christmas fairy lights can also bring speeds to halt.

And users Wi-Fi set-up in the house is also slowing down broadband.

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Now the company has launched an app to help broadband users discover what's going wrong with their internet speeds.

The app tests the Wi-Fi set-up and, if it finds a problem, will provide some troubleshooting tips to help improve broadband.

It's being launched alongside Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2015 report which takes an in-depth look at how the UK's internet is performing.

This year’s report shows good progress on the availability and take-up of communications services, which are now crucial in people’s personal and working lives.

However, it also recognises there is still more to do; particularly in improving broadband and mobile availability and quality of service for consumers and businesses around the country.

The coverage and quality of fixed broadband services across the UK has increased markedly over the past year.

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More than a quarter of homes now have ‘superfast’ broadband – with a connection of 30 Mbit/s or more, up from one in five a year ago.

Superfast broadband is now available to over eight in ten UK homes, up from 75% last year.

This has partly been driven by BT rolling out its fibre network, Virgin Media converting more homes to faster packages, and the Government’s on-going Broadband Delivery UK programme extending superfast into areas not covered by the commercial market.

Broadband in rural areas also continues to improve, with superfast broadband now available to almost four in ten premises across the UK.