Richard C.
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Verified by
Adam B.
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Last updated:
July 30, 2024
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(0)
Mongolia is sometimes called the ‘Land of the Eternal Blue Sky’ and is famous for its vast steppes and its rich history. With only a small part of its population online, it isn’t really known for modern connectivity but there are some interesting reasons for using a Mongolian connection with your VPN. Mongolia has access to some of the major video streaming services including Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, as well as local services like OnAir and ORI TV. There are some downsides too, as Mongolia does suffer from some internet censorship, particularly for adult websites. Regardless, plenty of VPN services have servers in Mongolia so it’s never been easier to connect there.
Since Mongolia is the most sparsely populated country in the world, internet connectivity outside of the capital city Ulaanbaatar, where almost half of Mongolians live, is poor. Though the country’s internet speeds aren’t the fastest in the region, a difficult task when you have South Korea to compete with – overall speeds are generally very good, so you’ll have no problem streaming videos through a VPN.
Mongolia does have some online censorship but not anywhere near as much as its neighbors have. That makes it an important IP location for foreign citizens using even more restrictive and heavily monitored internet in nearby locations like China and Russia.
The country has some Mongolian streaming services that you can’t find anywhere else, including Mongol TV’s ORI TV service and OnAir, which feature local shows as well as programming from across the world – South Korean dramas in particular.
Despite Mongolia being listed as a free country by Freedom House, there is a major concern about using the internet in Mongolia as there are no official data privacy laws. Although, the Mongolian criminal code and constitution do apparently prevent any arbitrary interference with privacy and correspondence, there are unconfirmed reports of internet surveillance by the government – so it’s better to exercise caution. Using a VPN is a great way to disguise your internet connection and location, to help you stay safe online.
Mongolia doesn’t have internet censorship as draconian as neighbor China, but it does suffer from some restrictions. A lot of pornographic websites have been blocked and Mongolia famously introduced an amusing list of banned words in 2014 which included gems such as ‘goshdarnit’, ‘drunk’, and ‘hog’. Websites found to use those words, and more vulgar ones in several languages, are at risk of being shut down.
There are more serious threats to press freedom in the country despite claiming to have a free press. Journalists are frequently victims of defamation lawsuits meaning many are forced to self-censor and there is a lack of protection for whistle-blowers. Back during the 2016 Parliamentary elections, the Mongolian government blocked 11 news websites for 24 hours and in 2017, 552 websites were also blocked for apparently breaching intellectual law.
Gambling is also an issue in Mongolia, and although the country has plans of opening casinos in the future, they will be aimed exclusively at foreigners since gambling is illegal for Mongolians. In fact, Mongolia passed a law to prevent Mongolian government employees from even gambling abroad, with the prospect of losing their jobs should they be caught. So, anyone wanting to gamble online will have to use a VPN and connect to another country.
Mongolia has access to global streaming services Amazon Prime Video and Netflix but there is no way of watching HBO Go or Hulu. Happily, as streaming popularity grows in the region there are locally based video streaming platforms that have recently launched, including ORI TV and the OnAir platform which feature content from all over Asia and the rest of the world, and these all require Mongolian IP addresses to work.
Unfortunately, music streaming services Google Play Music and Spotify aren’t available in Mongolia, however it does have Apple Music and Deezer as solid alternatives. Local radio stations in Mongolia are also easily streamed online from anywhere in the world.
Despite having some hurdles in internet censorship, Mongolia is a great connection point for some streaming services and for people in nearby countries. There are plenty of VPN services that have Mongolian servers and we found three of the best.
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