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What is CGNAT and why does it matter for your broadband?
If you’ve ever struggled to set up a home server, run a VPN, play online games without lag, or use smart home devices that need to be accessible remotely, there’s a good chance CGNAT was the culprit. Most people have never heard of it. But once you understand what it is, you’ll wish your ISP had told you sooner.
So, what is CGNAT?
CGNAT stands for Carrier-Grade Network Address Translation. It’s a technique used by many ISPs to stretch a limited pool of IPv4 addresses across a large number of customers.
Here’s the problem: the internet runs on IP addresses, and the older IPv4 standard only allows for around 4.3 billion unique addresses. That sounds like a lot until you consider there are billions of internet-connected devices in the world. IPv4 addresses ran out years ago.
The short-term fix many ISPs landed on was CGNAT. Instead of giving each customer their own public IP address, the ISP shares a single public IP across dozens or even hundreds of customers at once, using translation layers to route traffic between them.
What does CGNAT actually mean for you at home?
On the surface, basic browsing and streaming still work. But CGNAT creates real problems the moment you try to do anything more involved:
- Remote access breaks. Want to connect to your home network while you’re away? Access a NAS drive, security camera, or home server? CGNAT makes this very difficult or impossible without workarounds.
- Port forwarding doesn’t work. Many services, games, and applications rely on open ports. Under CGNAT, you don’t control your public IP, so you can’t forward ports the normal way.
- VPNs can struggle. Some VPN protocols depend on having a routable public IP. CGNAT can interfere with performance and reliability.
- Online gaming takes a hit. Peer-to-peer gaming, hosting sessions, and NAT type issues are all made worse by CGNAT. Moderate or strict NAT types are common complaints.
- Smart home and IoT devices. Devices that need to be reachable from outside your network face the same barriers as everything else.
- Harder to diagnose problems. Because your traffic is being translated through extra layers, troubleshooting network issues becomes more complex.
For light users who just browse and stream, CGNAT might never cause obvious issues. But for anyone who wants to get the most from a full fibre connection, it’s a genuine limitation.
Why do ISPs use CGNAT at all?
Mostly cost and convenience. IPv4 addresses are a finite resource and they’re expensive. Buying enough to give every customer their own address adds up. CGNAT lets an ISP scale its customer base without needing to buy more addresses or push customers onto IPv6.
It’s also quicker to deploy than a proper dual-stack IPv4 and IPv6 network. Some ISPs have relied on CGNAT as a long-term crutch rather than investing in infrastructure that properly supports both protocols.
What’s the alternative? Native IPv4 and IPv6
The right solution is a proper dual-stack setup: each customer gets their own native public IPv4 address and full IPv6 support. No sharing. No translation layers in the middle.
IPv6 is the long-term answer to address exhaustion. It supports a virtually unlimited number of unique addresses (340 undecillion, if you’re curious) and was designed with modern internet use in mind. A network that runs both native IPv4 and IPv6 gives you the best of both worlds: full compatibility with everything that exists today, and readiness for everything coming in the future.
Exascale doesn’t use CGNAT. Here’s what that means for you.
At Exascale, we’ve built our network the right way from the start. Every broadband customer gets their own native public IPv4 address and full IPv6 connectivity. No CGNAT. No shared addresses. No artificial barriers on what you can do with your connection.
We operate our own full fibre network in Telford and Wrekin, and we deliver broadband across CityFibre, Gigaclear, and Openreach infrastructure too. Across all of them, our approach is the same: native IPv4, native IPv6, and a network built for people who actually want to use the internet properly.
That means port forwarding works. Remote access works. VPNs work. Gaming works the way it should. And if you ever run into a network issue, there are no hidden translation layers making it harder to diagnose.
We’ve been running internet infrastructure since 2013, operate seven UK data centres, and hold a top-ten UK internet peering ranking. When we say our network is built differently, we mean it technically, not just as a marketing line.
Check if Exascale is available at your address
If you’re fed up with an ISP that quietly puts you behind CGNAT, or you just want a broadband provider that takes networking seriously, check your postcode to see what’s available where you are.