I've been paying $42 per month for an 8 Mbps plan, which is the fastest option available in my area. Recently, I tried connecting to Nintendo servers on my Switch and received error codes indicating NAT type issues. When I contacted my ISP for help, they informed me that I would need to pay an additional $10 for a "real IP". This is the first time I've encountered this concept, and no one I've asked seems to know what it is.
5 Answers
Instead of asking random people about your problem, you should have inquired directly with your ISP about what a real IP is and how it would help your situation. It seems like they’re offering you a public IP instead of a shared one. But it’s also possible they’re trying to push you into an unnecessary upgrade.
This scenario is reminiscent of satellite internet setups where you don’t get a publicly routable IP address but one behind their NAT. It’s not uncommon for some providers to do this; they might be trying to shift costs onto you.
Honestly, that price seems excessive. I'm only paying under $30 for 1 Gbps fiber internet where I live! Where are you located? That price is really concerning.
It sounds like your ISP is using CGNAT, which means your WAN IP is shared among multiple customers. They're saying you need to pay for a static WAN IP to open ports and connect properly to Nintendo's servers. So, if you get a static IP, your router can communicate directly with the internet instead of going through the ISP's gateway. In short, this isn't a scam, just how they're managing their connections.
I live in Beirut, Lebanon. Internet prices here can be pretty high. It’s frustrating dealing with ISPs in my area.
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