IPv4 exhaustion is now a UX problem

Discussions about the dwindling supply of IPv4 addresses have covered the internet for decades at this point, although always focusing on the technical problems this causes. At this point however, the technical impact and solutions are well known, we’re now dealing with a rarely discussed or acknowledged user experience problem. Most discussions online don’t touch on this topic because it’s something that mostly affects those in countries with poor IP allocation compared to population levels. The places where CGNAT is an inescapable reality. For many users in Western Europe or the United States, IPv4 scarcity still feels like a theoretical issue. And they design the internet accordingly. The realities of CGNATFor those unaware, Carrier-Grade NAT (or CGNAT) is basically a band aid solution to not having enough IP addresses for every customer. It’s a system that lets multiple households share a single IP address, ideally only a small number per address, but theoretically thousands. This…