Quick Tip for Accessing BBC Iplayer Abroad
If you’ve ever tried to access the BBC Iplayer abroad then you have probably experienced that disappointment as the warning message informs you that it’s not going to happen. The fact is that if you are trying to access the BBC Iplayer site from anywhere outside the United Kingdom – in all likelihood it simply won’t work. The reason is that the site looks up the origin of your connection when you visit the site, checking the address with a large database of IP address locations. Anything not registered in the UK gets blocked.
Sometimes you can be lucky of course, IP addresses often get re-allocated across countries. An address range may start off in the UK and then get assigned to another country, if the database is not updated then this will work. I’ve connected before to the BBC from French and German hotel networks due to this situation. If you’re lucky enough to have this situation then don’t move your ISP as you’ll end up in a different range.
However for everyone not as luck there is some hope. Although the BBC have blocked us they’ve left some pretty simple work arounds open by accident or perhaps design. The trick is to make sure that your IP address is actually seen to be from the UK whilst obscuring your real one. Sounds difficult but it can normally be achieved with a few clicks. What you need is to initially connect through a proxy or VPN server which is based in UK.
For many people if you’re working abroad, then you may be able to connect through to the home network through their company VPN – just log onto the BBC before disconnecting and you’ll have no problems. Otherwise then you can subscribe to the many online services which offer you a connection through a UK server.
The best ones have little software interfaces which mean it involves no technical aspect at all. A click of the button and you’re disguised as a British web surfer. There are some free proxies around as well but unfortunately finding one that is fast enough and available is no easy task and you will probably spend many hours continually searching.