Internet in the Czech Republic is in a relatively good place. Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) come from the private sector, meaning that there is less direct state control practiced over the nature of whatever is online in Czech lands. However, there is knowledge that is essential in understanding the situation in the country. Being a member state of the European Union, the Czech Republic is and was host to a variety of changes to its internet ranging from what the EU considered as copyright infringement to more private matters. This article is about outlining the specifics of Czech internet and offering a remedy to the challenges that might restrict your online experience: Virtual Network providers (VPNs).
There are a variety of ways for Czech residents to establish an internet connection. What is important to note here is that mobile internet and Wi-Fi are both quite popular in the country. If you are indeed enthusiastic about these two types of connections and surfing the net in the Czech Republic, we suggest employing the services of a VPN provider. These companies’ products encrypt your data traffic, meaning that whatever you do online, it will be surrounded by a protective layer of data. This results in a much safer way of going online, as your actions will be extremely hard to detect.
From a legal standpoint, the Czech Republic follows the European Union’s sanctions. The country was a part of the ACTA zone until the EU opted out of it in 2012. Not necessarily a replacement, but the EU applied some directives online against copyright infringement and topics like nudity. For example, EU states – including the Czech Republic – experience filtered results from search engines. Nudity, even artistic nudity and sources of music and video deemed to be unofficial will not (or rarely) appear. All Czech domains are run by Czech Network Information Center.
As a result of the Second World War, the Czech Republic of today became affiliated with the Soviet Union until 1989. Those years had seen a lot of controversy; the events of the Prague Spring and other controversial Soviet actions thus have an effect on today’s Czech online content. The effect is a positive from the country’s perspective, as websites (or any type of content) denying communist crimes is prohibited. Furthermore, in accordance with this, hate speech and holocaust denial are similarly not allowed, both of which are also historically relevant in the Czech republic. Additionally, child pornography and any form of content or even promoting it is disallowed in the country. Overall, these cases of online restriction are understandable in the Czech Republic. Otherwise, you have a relatively free internet to experience.
Streaming availability in the Czech Republic is good, but only from a musical perspective. If you are looking for music that is associated with the western world and music that corresponds to eastern European cultures, this country is a good place to start. Some bigger names like Apple Music, Google Play Music and Spotify can be found in the country, along with Deezer, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Beatport and 8tracks. Radio and local television coverage is also very good, with many European stations present online as well. Films are played a sadder note; Netflix is currently still absent in the Czech Republic, but is due to become available with a limited catalogue of movies and series in 2016. The Czechoslovakian new wave is a very important and overlooked movement of movie history, and in the country, the availability is not the best, apart from unofficial sources.
Overall, the Czech Republic has relatively favorable internet freedom, highlighted by the favorable geographical location of the country. Still, you can come under attacks at any corner in the world. Therefore, we are now going to recommend you three VPN services that we think fit best the already great Czech internet.
First, we would like to advise you on reading about VyprVPN. Almost considered as advocates of online safety, they are known for providing additional services next to a regular VPN. Among the extras is an NAT firewall that is essential in identifying threats when venturing in foreign lands. Secondly, you can also make good use of the company’s own brand of SmartDNS proxy, called VyprDNS.
Secondly, we have Hong Kong’s PureVPN. Both VyprVPN and this company are quite advantageous as businesses, as they have less to report to the state in which they are seated (VyprVPN resides in Switzerland). PureVPN’s advantages include SSL support and a kill switch that will cease any online connections if you encounter a problem with your VPN network. Therefore, this company is another one to pay attention to.
Lastly, check out IPVanish. Hailed as one of the best today, this company has no real strengths, surprisingly. By this we mean that while other companies usually have one very strong side, a selling point if you will, IPVanish offers strong sides in every area of service. Best used as a general purpose VPN, IPVanish comes at reasonable prices and is worth taking a look at.
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