With a population of nearly four million and an internet penetration of 68.1%, Georgia is known as a free country when it comes to internet usage. Citizens are free to voice their opinions online without any fear of retaliation. Interestingly enough, it has been reported that the vast majority of households access the internet through a home computer or a laptop rather than a personal mobile phone.
However, despite a high penetration rate, the country suffers from slow connections, as its internet infrastructures are still underdeveloped. Nevertheless, Georgians enjoy the presence of digital TV services, with exclusive national channels and the world’s most known streaming service, Netflix. As these services are restricted to the country’s geographic area, those who are outside of that region will have to resort to using a VPN service in order to access them.
The country has few digital services available. A single Digital TV service, with an eponymous name, is available for those who want to access Georgian content. Digital TV has over 60 channels across different genres, like movies, music, kids, general, news, and adults. In addition, this provider has 19 national channels, such as First Channel, Second Channel, Hope, Rustavi 2, TV First, Adjara TV, Maestro, and more. Other channels in different categories include FOX, RUTV, Basti-Bubu, EuroNews, National Geographic Wild, and beyond.
However, the service is only available for those who live within the country, meaning those who are outside the country’s area won’t have access to it, unless they’re using a VPN. Despite that, Digital TV is still an attractive offer for citizens living abroad, since it is very affordably priced. Customers can purchase a subscription for a monthly value of approximately $4.5, making for an annual cost of $54. Though in the first month customers will pay around $36 due to costs associated with purchasing the equipment, the annual value is equivalent to a monthly subscription of regular U.S. digital services.
Georgia’s constitution recognizes the use of the internet as a fundamental right. Article 17, which refers to the rights to freedom of opinion, information, mass media, and the internet, stipulates that everyone has the right to access and freely use the internet and censorship shall be inadmissible. In addition, as internet access and usage increase within the country, state bodies have also begun to use internet and social media to share information.
When it comes to individual privacy, there are no restrictions on the use of encryption tools online to provide anonymous browsing. However, citizens are required to provide personal information when purchasing a SIM card. Moreover, ISPs and mobile phone companies are obligated to provide statistical data on user activities when requested by law enforcement. This doesn’t apply to cybercafes, however, as they do not register data about customers.
There have been few instances where internet censorship has happened in Georgia. Overall, and as stated in the country’s constitution, citizens are free to express their views and opinions, whether online or offline. According to Freedom House, internet users can “visit any website around the world, upload or download any content, establish their own website, and contact other users via forums, social-networking sites, and instant messaging applications” without restrictions. As such, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and other media networks and blog hosting are widely available.
Despite Georgian citizens being able to enjoy internet freedom, internet supervisors have noted that several security-related laws empower law enforcements to conduct surveillance and collect data without independent oversight. As we mentioned before, ISPs are required to provide statistical information about their customers, regarding site visits, traffic, and other matters.
Additionally, some cases of censorship have happened in the past. In 2015, the State Security Service blocked WordPress in an attempt to restrict access to a website hosted on the platform. This specific website was responsible for distributing videos by a pro-Islamic Stage Group. The next year, access to YouTube was also restricted. This time, the government was trying to prevent citizens from watching a video which threatened a number of journalists and opposition figures. Access to the media service was restored only after the video was taken down. Aside from these two occurrences, no internet censorship reports have surfaced in recent times.
Despite acting in these two situations, the government does not place any restrictions on connectivity. However, internet infrastructure is still very poor, and users have complained about the quality of connections.
While the country’s internet penetration is high, its poor infrastructures have deemed it uninteresting for major streaming services. So far, only Netflix has made its way into the country. Other international players like Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon Prime have rejected the potential of the Georgian market. Even though streaming services are scarce in Georgia, the country does have IPTV services and Digital TV available. Digital TV provides customers with more than 35 Georgian channels, movies, and sports packages.
However, slow internet connections may affect streaming services’ performances, therefore making for an unpleasant experience. For those trying to use the country’s national services, a VPN will be of good use. By switching the real IP’s address with an IP at another location, not only is the service encrypting the user’s connection, it is also providing a more stable connection. However, while using a VPN might help improve connection speeds, users connecting to a Georgian server shouldn’t expect great internet velocities, regardless of the VPN service they’re using.
In terms of internet freedom, Georgia is a relatively good country. However, with poor infrastructures, citizens suffer from bad connections. Therefore, we’d like to recommend some VPN services to overcome that difficulty.
NordVPN has already managed to conquer the market by being one of the most reputable and trustworthy services ever made. Among its vast arsenal of features, the close attention given to security is one of the major highlights, thanks to the presence of an automatic kill switch, protection against DNS leaks, ads and malware, and even double VPN servers.
Speaking of which, these are only some of NordVPN's special servers that compose a global network filled with unusual locations, P2P countries, support for Onion over VPN, and more. NordVPN has a handful of different subscriptions in the form of simple apps for all kinds of devices and user types.
For as little as $3.09 per month, users can enjoy all the perks of having a secure and high-speed VPN. Plus, a generous refund policy allows you to get your money back if you decide NordVPN isn’t for you during the first 30 days.
First of all, please do not feel intimidated: the perhaps vulgar name of the UK-based company is intended to be a pun. HMA VPN has a mascot in the form of a donkey, and thus this little wordplay is nothing to worry about. You should rather pay attention to the fact that HMA VPN is easily one of the best VPN companies today; they offer much more than a standard package. You are also welcome to try out the free web proxy, an anonymous e-mail service and an IP:Port premium service, which is essentially a more elaborate proxy product. On top of this, you also have VPN browser extensions for Chrome and Mozilla to use. HMA VPN does all this while still maintaining decent speeds and healthy prices. These are coupled with the fact that HMA VPN remains one of few providers who still enable access to Netflix. But the most impressive thing about this organization is the number of locations provided – it is unprecedented today.
PureVPN has more than 6,000 servers worldwide with reliable, secire, and uninterrupted connections, compatibility with over 50 devices, and excellent customer service.
Prices start as low as $2.11 per month for the VPN, and those willing to pay a little more can get their hands on a password manager, file encryption, and personal privacy manager – all under the same subscription. Plus, with a 7-day free trial, 31-day money-back guarantee, add-ons, and discounts of up to 83%, it would be a mistake not to consider PureVPN as a viable option.
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