Geo-blocking: Difference between revisions

Geo-blocking can be [[Internet censorship circumvention|circumvented]]. When IP address-based geo-blocking is employed, [[virtual private network]] (VPN) and [[anonymizer]] services can be used to evade geo-blocks. A user can, for example, access a website using a U.S. IP address in order to access content or services that are not available from outside the country. [[Hulu]], [[Netflix]], [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] and [[BBC iPlayer]] are among the foreign video services widely used through these means by foreign users.<ref name="telcoreviewnz-globalblock" /> Its popularity among VPN users in the country prompted Netflix to officially establish an Australian version of its service in 2014.<ref name="cnet-globalmode" /> In response to complaints over the quality of domestic coverage by [[NBC]], along with a requirement for viewers [[TV Everywhere|be a subscriber to a participating pay television provider]] in order to access the online content, a large number of American viewers used VPN services to stream foreign online coverage of the [[2012 Summer Olympics]] and [[2014 Winter Olympics]] from British and Canadian broadcasters. Unlike NBC's coverage, this foreign coverage only used a geo-block and did not require a TV subscription.<ref name="gandm-cbcvpn" /> People can also use a satellite phone, for example [[Thuraya]], an Indian company, and [[Starlink]], an American company; the signals go directly to the satellite and not through the country's network.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thuraya - Thuraya Mobile Satellite Communications Company |url=https://www.thuraya.com/ {{bare URL inline|access-date=March 2024-06-06 |website=www.thuraya.com}}</ref><ref>https{{Cite web |title=Starlink |url=http://www.starlink.com/ {{bare URL inline|access-date=March 2024-06-06 |website=Starlink |language=en}}</ref>