Superloop Internet CGNAT: What It Is and Key Use Cases

Superloop Internet provides fast, reliable broadband services in Australia, offering NBN, fibre, and fixed wireless connections with low latency and high performance. It supports IPv6 and static IP options for enhanced connectivity.

If you’re a Superloop customer or exploring their internet services, you might have come across the term CGNAT. CGNAT stands for Carrier-Grade Network Address Translation, and it’s an important technology that many internet service providers (ISPs), including Superloop, use to manage IP addresses. In this blog, we’ll break down what CGNAT is, why it’s used, and how it can impact your internet experience.

What is CGNAT?

Carrier-Grade NAT is a method used by ISPs to help conserve public IPv4 addresses. With the explosion of internet-connected devices, the available pool of IPv4 addresses is quickly running out. CGNAT allows multiple customers to share a single public IP address, enabling ISPs like Superloop to continue providing IPv4 addresses to new customers without running into shortages.

Instead of assigning a unique public IP to each device, CGNAT assigns a private IP address and translates it to a shared public IP when the device accesses the internet. This translation occurs behind the scenes, so most users won’t notice it’s happening.

Why Do ISPs Use CGNAT?

The primary reason ISPs like Superloop use CGNAT is to stretch the limited supply of IPv4 addresses. Here are some of the key benefits of CGNAT:

1. IPv4 Address Conservation: Since every device connected to the internet requires an IP address, CGNAT helps ISPs provide service to more users by reusing public IPs.
2. Smooth Transition to IPv6: As the world slowly shifts to IPv6, which offers a vastly larger address pool, CGNAT acts as a stop-gap solution, allowing ISPs to manage the dwindling supply of IPv4 addresses without disrupting customer experience.
3. Cost-Effectiveness: By utilizing CGNAT, ISPs can avoid the high costs of acquiring additional IPv4 addresses, making it easier to maintain affordable internet plans for customers.

Related Read: How to check if your ISP performs CGNAT

Key Use Cases of CGNAT for Superloop Internet Customers

While CGNAT solves many technical challenges for ISPs, it can also affect certain aspects of your internet usage. Here are some common scenarios where CGNAT may have an impact:

1. Online Gaming
   CGNAT can affect online gaming experiences. Certain games, especially those requiring peer-to-peer (P2P) connections, rely on the ability to directly communicate between devices. When a shared IP is involved, it can sometimes lead to connection issues, longer matchmaking times, or higher ping rates. Gamers who face these problems might need a static IP address, which can often be requested from Superloop.
2. Remote Access to Home Networks
   If you rely on accessing your home network remotely—for example, through security cameras, NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices, or remote desktop applications—CGNAT might make this more complicated. This is because a shared public IP can hinder direct communication between your home network and an external device. Again, requesting a static IP address from Superloop can resolve this issue.
3. Hosting Servers at Home
   Users who want to host their own servers at home, such as a game server or web server, may find that CGNAT blocks incoming connections. This is due to the fact that with CGNAT, you don’t have a unique public IP for your home network, making it difficult for external devices to connect directly to your server.
4. Peer-to-Peer Applications
   Applications like BitTorrent or other P2P software might experience slower connection speeds or struggle to maintain consistent connections under CGNAT. These applications work best when devices can directly communicate with each other, which is complicated by shared IP addresses.

How to Check if Superloop Broadband Uses CGNAT

To determine if your superloop connection is under CGNAT, you can use any of the following methods:

Method 1: Check the Router’s WAN IP Address

1. Open a web browser and enter your router’s IP address into the address bar.
2. Enter your username and password to access the dashboard.
3. Navigate to the status screen on the dashboard.
4. Find the section labeled as ‘WAN IP’ or a similar term, which might vary based on the router model.
5. Examine the IP address assigned to the router’s WAN interface.
6. If this IP address falls within the range of 100.64.0.1 to 100.127.255.254, your connection is likely behind CGNAT. This IP range is designated for CGNAT usage.

Method 2: Compare WAN IP and Public IP Address

1. Follow the steps from Method 1 to find and note down the WAN IP address from your router’s dashboard.
2. Open a new tab in your web browser
3. Search for “what is my IP address” and press Enter.
4. Remember the public IP address displayed by the search results.
5. If the WAN IP and the public IP address are different, it indicates that your ISP is using CGNAT.
6. If they match, your connection likely has a direct public IP address, meaning it is not behind CGNAT.

How to Get Around CGNAT with PureVPN

CGNAT (Carrier-Grade NAT) can cause issues with certain online activities like gaming, hosting a server, or accessing your home network remotely. PureVPN offers a way to avoid CGNAT by providing you with a secure and direct connection to the internet using a public IP address.

Here’s how to get around CGNAT with PureVPN:

1. Sign Up for PureVPN

First, you need to sign up for a PureVPN account. We offer various subscription plans, so choose the one that suits your needs.

2. Download/Install PureVPN

PureVPN is available on multiple platforms including Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and routers. Download and install the app or configure PureVPN on your superloop or any other router.

3. Log In to PureVPN

Once installed, log in with the credentials you created during the signup process.

4. Connect to a Server

Open the PureVPN app and select a server from a location of your choice. PureVPN will route your traffic through this server, which has a public IP address. This effectively avoid CGNAT, as your connection will no longer rely on the shared IP address provided by your ISP.

5. Enable Port Forwarding (Optional)

If you need to host servers or access devices remotely, PureVPN also offers port forwarding. You can enable this feature directly in your PureVPN account settings. This helps you manage specific ports for gaming, torrenting, or running applications that require direct access.

6. Verify Your Connection

After connecting to a PureVPN server, verify that you’re no longer behind CGNAT. You can use online tools to check your IP address and confirm that it’s a public IP.

Benefits of Using PureVPN to Avoid CGNAT

• Improved online gaming: Reduce lag and connect to servers directly.
• Remote access: Easily access your home network or devices from anywhere.
• Enhanced privacy: PureVPN encrypts your connection, offering additional security.

By following these steps, you can avoid CGNAT using PureVPN and enjoy a more direct, unrestricted internet experience.

What You Can Do

If you’re facing any issues caused by CGNAT, you can reach out to Superloop for assistance. Many ISPs, including Superloop, offer the option to bypass CGNAT by providing a dedicated IP address. A static IP address ensures that your devices are assigned a unique public IP, resolving issues related to online gaming, remote access, or hosting servers at home.

Superloop also offers IPv6, which is the future of internet addressing. IPv6 has an almost unlimited pool of IP addresses, making technologies like CGNAT unnecessary. If your devices support IPv6, enabling it can help avoid the limitations of CGNAT entirely.

Conclusion

CGNAT is a practical solution for managing the shortage of IPv4 addresses, and it’s widely used by ISPs like Superloop. While it can impact certain use cases like gaming, remote access, and server hosting, the good news is that solutions like static IPs and IPv6 can help mitigate these issues. If you’re a Superloop customer, understanding how CGNAT works and how it might affect your internet experience can help you make informed decisions about your service.

If you’re experiencing any challenges or want to know more about your options, it’s worth reaching out to Superloop’s support team.