The new generation of alternative gigabit-capable broadband ISP networks (AltNets) has helped to bring a huge amount of additional competition into the wider UK market. But one area where some of them fall down is in their use of technologies like CGNAT (IP address sharing) and the lack of IPv6 support.
Now, it’s fair to say that many ordinary consumers probably won’t care too much about things like this. But for IT people, as well as online gamers and those with particular security requirements, the approach an ISP takes to the use of Carrier Grade Network Address Translation (CGN), and any related support for the Internet Protocol v6 (IPv6) addressing standard, can make all the difference.
First, a little explainer. Everybody needs an Internet Protocol (IP) address to go online and your ISP is responsible for assigning one to your connection (it’s the internet equivalent of a phone number). Most ISPs tend to use Dynamic IP addresses for domestic connectivity, which changes each time your broadband link is disconnected and isn’t shared with other subscribers (at least not at the same time you’re using it).
Some providers will also allow you to take a Static IP (Fixed IP) address, which remains the same no matter how many times you switch the connection on and off, albeit usually at an extra cost. However, the shift from the old IPv4 system, which has long since run out of spare addresses (buying IPv4’s now on the market is an expensive business), means that in order to add new connections some ISPs have had to adopt CGN.
CGNAT enables a single IP address to be shared between many users, and is thus seen by some ISPs as a useful solution for IPv4 shortages. But sharing IP addresses like this can also cause security and connectivity issues, which is something that more advanced users often prefer to avoid.
One way to reduce the negative impact from this is to ensure that the network supports the latest IPv6 addressing standard, but surprisingly there are still plenty of ISPs that have yet to properly adopt it. The reality is that some providers will need CGNAT until IPv6 has fully taken over, thus in the meantime more advanced users tend to look for ISPs that can mitigate this by both supporting IPv6 and offering Static IP addresses.
Surveying AltNets
The problem is that most AltNets, as well as ISP more generally, tend not to do a good job of communicating their use of CGNAT or IPv6 support. In addition, CGNAT support may vary between packages (e.g. you might see it on cheaper residential plans, but not necessary the business variants of those). This can make it very difficult for more advanced / experienced users to figure out whether the new networks are able to cater for their needs.
In recent years’ we’ve seen quite a few complaints about this and so we’ve today responded by surveying each provider to identify their level of support. In cases where we couldn’t find enough consumer feedback to verify the details, then we’ve manually contacted providers to ask three simple questions:
1. Do your consumer broadband packages all support IPv6?
2. Do you offer a Static IP option to customers, and how much does it cost?
3. Do your consumer packages use CGNAT?
Since manually surveying masses of AltNets would be far too laborious, we’ve instead opted to only focus on those with wider UK coverage (ideally in the tens of thousands of premises). We’ve also excluded any providers / networks where we had no solid or recent data on their coverage.
One catch here is that some operators are pure wholesale networks, which sometimes don’t operate their own optional retail provider, and in those cases we’ve opted to select two or more recognisable ISPs to represent them (note: IPv6 support is implemented at ISP level). Some of the ISPs we pick may be available via other networks too, but we try not to repeat the entries.
Survey Results
The outcome of our survey can be found below, with extra notes where relevant.
Pure Open Wholesale Networks with Multiple ISPs
TalkTalk
➤ IPv6 Support: No (TalkTalk claims their network supports it, but they haven’t enabled it)
➤ Static IP Available: No (only on business packages)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No
Vodafone
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (free – but you have to request it)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No
Zen Internet
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (free)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No
iDNET
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (often included by default)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No
MS3
Octaplus
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes (deployment started in August 2023)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes
Direct Save Telecom
➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: ? (included on business plans)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?
Yayzi Broadband
➤ IPv6 Support: No (but in the process of being added)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£2 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes (they’re removing this as IPv6 gets implemented)
OFNL
Seethelight
➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: ? (included on business plans)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?
Direct Save Telecom
➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: ? (included on business plans)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?
Take note that the results for open wholesale networks that have their own primary ISP (e.g. FullFibre Limited and F&W Networks) can be found mixed in below with the more vertically integrated providers.
Networks with a Primary ISP (often vertically integrated)
Airband
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£10 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: All packages get IPv4 host reservation on the global address, and they also offer IPv6 unicast and prefix delegation address reservation
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No
BeFibre (FullFibre Ltd. and Digital Infrastructure)
➤ IPv6 Support: No (but told it’s on roadmap for 2024 sometime)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£4 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes (but if customers want a standard dynamic IP, they can “request that free of charge“)
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: No (but you can get one on their business plans)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes
➤ IPv6 Support: ?
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?
➤ IPv6 Support: No (but planned as part of core upgrade in 2024)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£6 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No (“we’re dead against this“)
➤ IPv6 Support: No (but due soon on Ecom Fibre)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 a month or free on biz plans)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No
➤ IPv6 Support: No (IPv4 by default, but network may be IPv6 capable)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£6 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes
NOTE: Some customers report that FibreNest could not supply them with a static IP, despite it being advertised.
Freedom Fibre (TalkTalk)
➤ IPv6 Support: No (TalkTalk claims their network supports it, but they haven’t enabled it)
➤ Static IP Available: No (only on business packages)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No
➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£4.80 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes
➤ IPv6 Support: No (they have tentative plans to deploy it)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£2 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No (but CGNAT may be coming)
➤ IPv6 Support: No (but “available to new GoFibre customers in the early part of 2024“)
➤ Static IP Available: ? – Unclear as ISP currently working on changes to related product/prices
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes (on standard non-IPv6 products)
➤ IPv6 Support: No (they claim it’s coming)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 per month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans:Yes
➤ IPv6 Support: No (technically their network does support IPv6, but there seem to be some issues with older kit)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 per month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes
Hey! Broadband (F&W Networks)
➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 per month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes
Cuckoo (Fern Trading – Jurassic Fibre, Swish Fibre, Giganet and All Points Fibre)
➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£1 per month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?
NOTE: At the time of writting the networks for Jurassic Fibre, Swish Fibre and Giganet are all in the process of being consolidated, with Cuckoo taking on the consumer retail side. Due to this it’s become a bit tricky to know what the final service options and capabilities are going to look like by the end of 2024.
➤ IPv6 Support: No (although their network is technically IPv6-ready, but not enabled on consumer plans)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (included by default)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes (/62)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 per month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes
➤ IPv6 Support: No (we’re told it’s on the roadmap for sometime in 2024)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£10 a month, but due to be cut to £5 – free for biz users)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No
➤ IPv6 Support: ?
➤ Static IP Available: No
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes
LilaConnect (VX FIBER , Freedom Fibre)
➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£6 a month – or included on their ‘Gamer’ package)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes
NOTE: We had to get some extra clarification on this one, since ‘Static IP’ above has a different meaning with Lila. “We unfortunately do not offer a strictly Static IP at this time, we do offer Public IP’s that are delivered dynamically, however unless a change is forced (on our system) the IP does not change, so it acts as a Static.” So if you pay £6 extra for one, you’re actually getting a Public IP that rarely changes.
Netomnia (YouFibre)
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes, but only in some areas (being deployed)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 per month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes
Ogi
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes – partial (full native IPv6 being deploying during H1 2024)
➤ Static IP Available: No (but their IPv4s are quite sticky)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes and No (didn’t use CGNAT when asked, but was due to be added by end of 2023)
NOTE: Ogi said that, once CGNAT is deployed, they will be able to optionally put customers back on an IPv4 address (we assume a static one) if they have problems that cannot be resolved. But the roll-out of native IPv6 should help to placate a lot of this.
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes and No (can only get IPv6 on request, but plan is to roll it out generally in 2024)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£2 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes
➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (included by default, but £5 a month on wireless plans)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No
➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: ? (£ a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?
➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: ? (£ a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£8 a month!)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: ? (£ a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£? a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes (Dual Stack via a 6 to 4 Tunnel, if you use their Adtran router)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£10 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No
Please note that the above details were gathered gradually over three months between late 2023 and early 2024. As a result, it’s entirely possible that some of the information may have changed since we last checked, and we also weren’t able to fill in all the blanks (not everybody responded). Suffice to say, we’d very much appreciate it if the providers and our readers could help by informing us if any of this information needs updating.