Is it worth for me to switch to Community fibre?

[swagare2]

So community fibre is available is my area and it seems like a no brainer. £26 for 1GB and no price increases.

However, they use CGNAT on all packages under 3GB. I’m no specialist in this type of thing, but from all I have read on the internet apparently it can cause problems with gaming.

I play games like COD, overwatch, Fortnite and more in the future. If it can negatively even slightly affect gaming that’s a dealbreaker.

Should I avoid community fibre? I’m not too sure on the implications of cgnat on gaming.

[Adduxi]

GCNAT is a shared IPv4 address, so it may not be suitable for gaming.  ISP's use CGNAT as a work around to the reduced pool of existing IPv4 addresses.  However check if you can request a static IPv4 address for an additional cost?

[suttonscloud]

Hi Swagare2,

CGNAT is used by ISPs to mitigate the use of IPv4 addresses. When you game on a CGNAT network you will basically be routed through the same external IPV4 address as other users but on a separate port.

If the game you are playing uses dedicated game servers, you will be fine; however if the game servers are not dedicated and its s P2P setup, then you will have problems and likely chance the incoming connection will be dropped by the ISP as that port will be closed (and you won't have access to open it). Also routing may be an issue, there will be extra hops in the network which increase latency.

CGNAT overall isn't great, as you are sharing a public IP address with multiple people. IP based advertisement targeting is one, if you visit Amazon or other shopping sites they may remember what you were browsing, and other sites may suggest similar content in advertisements. So if Craig down the road using Community Fibre has some weird kinks, you may also get them advertised to you!

Another potential problem is cyber attacks, If someone who also is gaming on a CGNAT network gets into an argument online, annoyed gamers may try and send a DDOS attack to that public IP address, which you are also connected to; so it could take out dozens of people who are using that same IP address as you.

CGNAT isn't great, but thats potentially why the price is cheaper. If i was you; negotiate with Virgin and see if they will offer you a better deal, as especially for gaming you want to stay away from CGNAT.

Hope this helps.