Mobile operator and UK ISP Vodafone has today confirmed to ISPreview that customers of their fixed line consumer broadband packages, which are supplied over Openreach and CityFibre’s national networks (FTTC and FTTP), should still be able to request a Static IP (Internet Protocol) address. But this is despite some support staff telling users the opposite.
Most home broadband users will either have a changeable (Dynamic) or shared (CGNAT etc.) IP address, while a ‘Static’ (or ‘Fixed’) IP address doesn’t change, unless there’s a major network migration. Static addresses are useful for running servers, hosting domains, certain security environments, advanced network setups and getting around problems caused by Carrier Grade NAT (where relevant) etc.
Vodafone’s home broadband packages have typically always been sold alongside a Dynamic IP address, which is fairly normal. But the provider has long had a policy where customers could contact support and get a Static IP added to their accounts for free. This is an attractive offer, given that a lot of other providers will charge premiums of c.£1-£5 or more per month to get such an address (it’s usually considered more of a ‘business’ feature).
The bad news is that one of our community members (5GAllDayLong) recently spotted that Vodafone appeared to be rejecting new requests for a Static IP address when asked via Live Chat (here). In response, one of Vodafone’s community moderators simply said: “The Static IP service is no longer available for consumer account customers.” But Vodafone’s media team now says the feature is still available.
A spokesperson for Vodafone told ISPreview:
“Vodafone strives to meet our customers’ connectivity needs wherever possible and continues to offer IPv4 static addresses upon request for both consumer and business customers. Given the global scarcity of IPv4 addresses, we have implemented several strategies and are actively transitioning to IPv6, which provides a significantly larger address space.”
Naturally, we have queried what the operator means by “several strategies“, as clearly the odd customer has struggled to get a Static IP assigned to their accounts. But it’s currently unclear whether this is part of such a strategy or merely an isolated facet of a poorly informed support agent (hopefully only the latter).
Speaking of IPv6, the roll-out of related addresses to their fixed broadband base should be on course to complete by around the end of March 2025 (here), assuming the operator is still keeping to its plan. But Vodafone’s mobile base is another matter, and there’s currently no known plan for when that may see the same transition.