How Telecom Companies Are Coping with IPv4 Scarcity
IPv4 scarcity is real for telecom companies: they face the same IPv4 shortage as everyone else—RIR free pools are exhausted, and demand from subscribers, IoT, and business services stays high. Telecom operators are coping with carrier-grade NAT (CGNAT), IPv6, and the secondary market: buying, leasing, and renting IPv4, and leasing out or renting out space they don’t need. This post explains how telecom companies are coping and what you can do—lease out or rent IPv4—if you’re a holder or a buyer.
Why Telecom Companies Face IPv4 Scarcity
Demand for IPv4 is high in telecom for several reasons.
Subscriber and device growth. More subscribers mean more devices and more need for outbound IPv4 (or dual-stack). Mobile data usage continues to climb, and IoT devices often require IPv4 connectivity. IPv4 exhaustion means new space doesn’t come from the RIR; it comes from the market.
Fixed wireless and fiber expansion. Operators rolling out fixed wireless access (FWA) and fiber-to-the-home need IP addresses for customer premises equipment. Each deployment adds demand for address space.
Legacy and partners. Many customers, partners, and enterprise systems still assume IPv4. Telcos can’t turn off IPv4 until the rest of the ecosystem catches up. Business services, VPNs, and M2M connections often require dedicated IPv4. So IPv4 scarcity is a constraint for telecom companies for the foreseeable future.
How Telecom Companies Are Coping
Carrier-Grade NAT (CGNAT)
CGNAT is large-scale NAT that lets many users share a smaller pool of public IPv4 addresses. It stretches existing IPv4 and delays the need for more space. It doesn’t eliminate IPv4 need—it reduces the number of public addresses required per user.
Major operators using CGNAT include:
- Comcast (US) — Uses CGNAT to manage IPv4 demand while transitioning to IPv6
- BT Group (UK) — Widely implemented CGNAT for residential broadband
- Airtel (India) — Extensive CGNAT due to limited IPv4 availability in developing markets
- Telstra (Australia) — Leverages CGNAT for urban and rural broadband
- Vodafone (global) — Implements CGNAT across operations, especially in regions with high mobile data usage
Smaller operators also deploy CGNAT. UK-based Rocket Fibre scaled to 15,000 subscribers using software-based CGNAT on x86 servers, achieving significant cost savings compared to hardware appliances.
CGNAT has tradeoffs: IP geolocation breaks for some streaming services, gaming and VoIP can have issues, and port exhaustion requires careful management. So operators often combine CGNAT with IPv6 and selective IPv4 allocation for customers who need dedicated addresses.
IPv6
Telecom companies are deploying IPv6 for new capacity. Where both IPv4 and IPv6 are available, traffic can prefer IPv6, reducing pressure on IPv4. IPv6 doesn’t remove IPv4 need overnight—legacy and partners still require IPv4—but it helps over time.
Buy, Lease, Rent
When telcos need more IPv4, they get it from the secondary market—buying (RIR transfer), leasing (contract-based use), or renting (short-term, flexible). Our guides on how to buy IPv4, how to lease IPv4, and how to rent IPv4 cover the options.
Lease Out or Rent Out
Telecom holders with unused IPv4 can monetize it by leasing out IPv4 or offering it for rent. That puts space back into the market and can generate recurring revenue. So telecom strategy often includes both acquiring space (buy/lease/rent) and monetizing surplus (lease out/rent out).
What Carrier-Grade NAT Does and Doesn’t Do
CGNAT extends the life of IPv4 by sharing a smaller pool of public addresses across many users. It doesn’t create new IPv4; it reuses what you have. So CGNAT is a coping strategy—it reduces the need for more IPv4 but doesn’t remove the need entirely.
The tradeoffs are real. Applications that assume a unique public IP or direct connectivity can break. Common issues include:
- Gaming: Some games struggle with NAT traversal or port restrictions
- VoIP: Quality can degrade when multiple users share an IP
- Streaming: Geolocation services may misidentify user locations
- Security: Abuse reports and blocklists may affect shared IP users
Telecom operators often use CGNAT for general internet access and allocate dedicated IPv4 (or IPv6) for business customers and services that require it. That keeps demand for “real” IPv4 space even when CGNAT is in use.
What You Should Do
If you’re a telecom company or adjacent organization:
Need more IPv4? Use the secondary market—buy IPv4 for long-term control, lease IPv4 for medium-term use, or rent IPv4 for short-term or flexible needs. CGNAT and IPv6 can reduce how much you need, but they don’t remove the need where compatibility matters.
Have unused IPv4? Lease out IPv4 or offer it for rent. Holders with surplus space can generate recurring income while helping others who need IPv4. Telecom companies can be both buyers and sellers.
Plan for dual-stack. IPv4 and IPv6 will coexist. Your strategy should assume IPv4 scarcity for years and combine CGNAT, IPv6, and the secondary market as needed.
Bottom Line
Telecom companies are coping with IPv4 scarcity by using CGNAT, IPv6, and the secondary market. Major operators worldwide—Comcast, BT, Airtel, Telstra, Vodafone—rely on these tools. CGNAT and IPv6 reduce but don’t eliminate the need for IPv4. If you need more space, buy, lease, or rent. If you have surplus, lease it out and put it back into the market.