Best VPNs for Nepal

Cellular coverage is the dominant form of connection in Nepal as most citizens prefer the freedom of on-the-go style browsing via their smartphone instead of sitting in front of a computer. The connection speed is reliably fast in larger cities thanks to 4G being introduced in 2017, but even in remote rural areas a slow 2G connection can be expected. The reason behind Nepal’s sudden catching up to the rest of South Asia lies in its open market for telecommunication companies. Although the country has no ISPs of its own, it receives services from Indian internet companies who are in direct competition with each other. Not only that but this monopoly of Indian ISPs was broken after an agreement with China who promised to deliver more stable coverage from 2018.

Surprisingly, the little country of Nepal was the first in South Asia to introduce an online privacy protection law back in 2007. The Right to Information Act provides Nepalese citizens with the freedom to access information about “functions, proceedings thereof or decisions of public importance made by the Public Bodies”. Even though the act only gives a loose definition as to what constitutes as information or a public body, it touches on all the right notes that a privacy protection law should, featuring policies regarding the protection of personal data, right of correction, and government regulations when it comes to surveillance and third-party information gathering. The RTI act is a great example of how sometimes it is the smallest countries that are the ones taking a stand for the freedom of speech.

Nepal wasn’t always the pillar of privacy, however. In fact, the country has been a battlefield of political forces for decades. In recent memory, King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah devised a coup in an effort to reinstitute absolute monarchy. During his one-week reign he passed a new media law that prohibited any form of criticism of the royal family, as well putting a leash on independent news stations. Luckily the repressive laws were repelled by the freshly restored parliament soon after a mass protest brought the king down.

From that point on there have been no aggressive takeovers and the government has created boundaries to prevent censorship. The OpenNet Initiative thoroughly tested the country’s internet looking for signs of filtering in political, social and security areas, only to report that no such methods are being used to block content. The report also pointed out the lack of surveillance. Yet while the current state of privacy in the country is satisfying, it’s still better to be safe than sorry, and subscribing to a VPN when in Nepal wouldn’t hurt especially since the program will also protect users from third-party tracking tools and malware.

It comes as no surprise that the Nepalese love video content. Since accessing the internet on a smartphone is the norm, many citizens have picked up the habit of watching streams while traveling or sitting in park. This hobby is further encouraged by the fact that more and more ISPs are providing 4G packages. Netflix is a huge favorite in the country, but news networks like Kantipur TV also engage in occasional HD livestreams as well as upload broadcasts to YouTube.

However, regardless of whether you live in Nepal or are just visiting the country as a tourist, a VPN is a powerful ally in getting the most out of your Netflix account. Rerouting traffic through a foreign server will change your virtual nationality and open the door to a bigger library of content by outsmarting the site’s geo-restriction. Accessing a U.S. server, for example, will provide access to one of the largest Netflix libraries.

The purpose of a VPN is to help users unblock content and provide protection from hackers. For this reason it’s the best to look for companies who grant uncompromised speed via Nepalese servers.