Cuba, Belarus, Myanmar, and more: Private Internet Access adds 15 new VPN server locations

(Image credit: chaychaytechtime.com) PIA adds 15 locations, bringing its network to 170 locations in 104 countriesThe update targets the Caribbean, Central Asia, and Southeast AsiaSome new locations are virtual and include some that rivals don't offerPrivate Internet Access (PIA) has added 15 new server locations to its VPN network, taking it to 170 locations across 104 countries and territories, up from 91 countries.The expansion covers 13 countries and territories PIA didn't serve before, including Cuba, Belarus, Myanmar, Pakistan, and the Cayman Islands. It also adds new city-level servers in Naples and Tottenham.If you're shopping for the best VPN, network reach is usually one of the first things to compare, and this update fills some notable gaps on PIA's map. It follows a recent wave of network upgrades and comes shortly after PIA more than doubled its streaming-optimized network, from 13 locations to 35.Where PIA's new servers arePIA says it targeted underserved regions where demand is highest: the Caribbean, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia.Here's the full list:Americas: Cayman Islands, Cuba, JamaicaEurope: Belarus, Jersey, Naples (Italy), Tottenham (UK)Asia Pacific: Bhutan, Brunei, Guam, Laos, Myanmar, ThailandMiddle East, Africa, and Central Asia: Pakistan, UzbekistanYou don't need to do anything to access them. The new locations appear automatically in every PIA app, with no reinstall or plan change required. (Image credit: Future)NEW: Leave No Trace — A weekly newsletter on digital privacy and online surveillance.Leave No Trace investigates the companies and governments putting our digital freedom at risk — and the people fighting back.📩 Subscribe now to get every edition delivered to your inbox every Friday, launching this September.What the expansion means for youMore locations mean more choice. Connecting to a VPN server closer to your real location can help cut latency, and extra options make it easier to switch away from a congested server. You also get local IP addresses in more places, which helps when reaching local websites and services at home or abroad.The Naples and Tottenham servers go a step further, letting your connection appear local to a specific city rather than just a country. PIA says this can help with regional content and reduce lag in busy metro areas.However, nearly all of the new locations are virtual (except Tottenham), meaning your IP address matches the country you pick while the physical VPN server is hosted elsewhere. PIA says it does this where local infrastructure or laws don't meet its privacy standards, and it flags virtual locations in its apps.How PIA's network compares with rivalsInternational reach has long been a weak point for PIA. Our PIA review found its US coverage strong but its wider international network less impressive.At 104 countries and territories, PIA now edges past Surfshark, which advertises 4,500+ servers in 100 countries. However, it still trails behind ExpressVPN at 113 countries, Proton VPN at 148, and NordVPN at 150.PIA does have a couple of unique selling points. At the time of writing, neither NordVPN's nor Surfshark's public server lists include Cuba or Belarus.Raw numbers aren't the whole story, either. NordVPN and Surfshark have both argued that capacity, speed, and reliability matter more than server count. The real test for PIA's new locations will be how they perform in everyday use.Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button! Monica is a tech journalist with over a decade of experience. She writes about the latest developments in computing, which means anything from computer chips made out of paper to cutting-edge desktop processors. GPUs are her main area of interest, and nothing thrills her quite like that time every couple of years when new graphics cards hit the market. She built her first PC nearly 20 years ago, and dozens of builds later, she’s always planning out her next build (or helping her friends with theirs). During her career, Monica has written for many tech-centric outlets, including Digital Trends, SlashGear, WePC, and Tom’s Hardware.