More than half of all the content on the internet is in English. No other language comes even close in comparison. Unsurprisingly, English-speaking countries also have the most internet users, the best internet speed, and the largest number of online services available to them.

If you could choose your IP address, you’d be best off if it’s somewhere in the United Kingdom. Being both English-speaking and in Europe, UK servers have the least restrictions and fastest speeds.

The best way to gain a UK IP address, apart from being in there, is by purchasing a proxy.

What are UK proxies?

Proxies are intermediary servers that can route your requests. You first connect to the proxy, and it connects to the websites or services on your behalf. After loading these websites or services, the proxy sends you the data.

The process might sound more complicated than it is. Using a good proxy takes seconds, and you don’t feel much difference from using your original connection. Such convenience means that you can stay anonymous, and web services can no longer restrict your access according to your location.

Suppose you choose a proxy from the UK while in the United States. Your traffic appears as if originating from the UK. You can access movies, sports, e-commerce websites, and all else as if from the UK.

More importantly, you can perform various tasks without risking a ban on your original IP address. Automation (such as bulk purchasing or social media management) or mass collecting data using bots (a process called web scraping) is available only with proxies.

Different proxies are fit for different tasks, and their performance depends on the source of the IP address. There are three main types of proxies tied to the source of the IP:

• Datacenter proxies are hosted in large data centers with high-speed internet connections and professional equipment. Datacenter IPs are created in bulk virtually, so they are quite cheap but are easier to detect for website servers.
• Residential proxies originate from home connections and are tied to physical devices that run them. Each residential IP address must be verified by the internet service provider (ISP), which makes them more legitimate and allows accurate location targeting.
• Mobile proxies are hosted on mobile devices (tablets or smartphones) that use cellular data to connect to the internet. New generation (5G) mobile proxies are quite fast, but they are also expensive.

Choosing proxies by location

Most developed countries have vast internet networks that provide connections to users for mobile, home, or data center needs. Consequently, all of the corresponding types of proxies are also available. So, the deciding factor of proxy performance is often not just its type but the location.

Suppose you want to connect to an e-commerce shop that is hosted in London. A usually slow residential proxy from the UK will perform better at bulk purchasing tasks than a high-speed datacenter one located in Mumbai. Geographical proximity ensures speed and, at the same time, allows you to blend in with the general traffic.

The UK has all the proxy types and multiple providers that will fit your budget, but the same can be said about other Western Europe countries. Germany, France, Netherlands, Norway, and others also have many proxy providers and a well-developed internet network. So, why choose proxy services in the UK?

How proxies from the UK are different?

Generally, there are three main factors you should consider before choosing a proxy from a specific location. UK proxies are exceptionally great at all these factors, so in many cases, they are an obvious choice.

Internet speed is one of the fastest in Great Britain. There are many different aspects to measure – fixed broadband, mobile internet, download or upload speed. No matter which one you will take, the UK always lands somewhere in the top 50 or top 30.

As a result, proxy servers originating from the British Isles are sure to ensure good performance. Downtimes are close to non-existent as thousands of international organizations rely their operations on the speed of the internet in the UK.

The amount of local traffic from the UK is one of the largest in the world. Almost all 65 million British people use the internet on a daily basis. However, the number of internet users is not enough to ensure service availability.

India, for example, has even more active Internet users, but the average Indian is reluctant to spend money online. UK internet traffic, by comparison, is almost sure to bring sales for a company that targets these audiences.

It is important to know before choosing a proxy. The more potentially profitable traffic a country has, the more services will be available for their IP addresses. UK traffic is one of the most profitable, so every major online business wants to provide its services to users from the UK.

E-commerce websites, streaming services, social media platforms, and everything else are sure to be accessible from a proxy in the UK. But while you can access global content from the UK, it’s not guaranteed you will be able to access UK content from elsewhere.

Services and websites specific to the UK, such as the BBC, government websites, news outlets, etc., are notorious for restricting access for foreign internet visitors. It creates a lot of hassle for businesses and individuals that can be easily avoided by simply using a proxy.

For example, as a huge British football fan, I like to watch games of small local clubs. While there is no problem with following the premier league from the US, these local games are only accessible with a UK proxy.

Conclusion

UK Proxy services have many benefits. All proxy types function at top speeds due to a well-developed internet network. Most services are available for users from the UK, and keeping anonymous is no hassle at all. If you need a proxy server in Europe, the UK might be the best location.