topic Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses in Tech Help - Software/Hardware etc

Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

7up — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 21:33:06 GMT

And no.. I don't mean static, I mean public.. why does everyone keep getting those confused today?

Anyway... as the title says.. three are no longer using public IP addresses. The rotten swines have for some reason called it a day on that - which was a rather useful feature. I can only presume that they decided it's too expensive or the government got difficult about it being misused by the lergy called terrorism.

Anyway... this leaves me in a bind because I can't use a dongle at a remote location and keep in touch with that devices / network to monitor or view cameras etc.

Any ideas? I've never used a VPN before but i'm wondering if i can somehow create a vpn thing to my network which will then allow me to access it as if its part of my network?

Anyone else using a mobile network for a remote device? - How do you connect and stay in touch?

Thanks for the input...

7up

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 22:24:18 GMT

Can you clarify what you said.

Is the dongle connected to a remote network which includes cameras ?

Are the cameras on a broadband connection somewhere, and you are remotely monitoring elsewhere with a PC using a dongle ?

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

7up — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 01:03:22 GMT

@7up wrote:

Anyway... this leaves me in a bind because I can't use a dongle at a remote location and keep in touch with that devices / network to monitor or view cameras etc.

@Anonymous wrote:

Can you clarify what you said.

Is the dongle connected to a remote network which includes cameras ?

Sorry.. thought i'd made it clear but reading it again it does look a tad ambiguous!

What I meant is a remote network connected to the internet via a dongle. My aim is to be able to then connect to it from home using our plusnet landline broadband.

Without a public IP I can't do that as it will be behind a NAT setup (why, why, why did they have to do this?).

So.. is there a way to get around this? - Will an outgoing VPN from the remote location to my home provide the network access I need to that remote setup?

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

aesmith — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 06:27:38 GMT

VPN initiated from the remote will probably work, depending on the exact VPN implementation at both ends. We have some customers doing this particularly where they have offices where fixed IP is simply not available. By the way 3G/4G services have been using private addresses for a while now, so it's not just a 3 thing.

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 07:15:42 GMT

While a VPN initiated by the remote network would probably work, you should investigate how much of your mobile data plan would be used by VPN 'keep alive' traffic, as the remote end would need to constantly attempt to make contact with the monitoring end of the VPN link even when it is not in use.

Or you could just use a different companies SIM which makes use of the 'Three' network, some even provide public and static IP blocks so you wouldn't even have to use port forwards to bypass NAT in order remotely access different camaras.

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

7up — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 19:13:24 GMT

I had a funny hunch about all of this 3 malarky.. so i've connected to them... and topped up with the daily £2.99 package.

They've only gone and given me a public IP address

Not sure how long that'll last... they might disconnect my sim... or might not do anything... not entirely sure but they told me point blank they don't do public IP addresses anymore... and then give me one.

I'll have to continue testing this over the next few weeks and keep you updated.. in the meantime i need to find a supported webcam for the pi...

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 19:17:36 GMT

How much included data allowance do you get for that £2.99 ?

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

7up — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 20:25:40 GMT

500mb.

I know it's not much.. and it's only for one day.. but for 3 quid it was worth a risk rather than losing a tenner!

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

MJN — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 20:49:20 GMT

Do you have a link regarding their (possible) cessation of offering public IP addresses?

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

7up — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 12:02:09 GMT

Nope, they say they don't do public IP addresses anymore at all! They certainly don't offer a concession or even admit to it. Funny old company.. It's possible though that this only applies to newer equipment or sim cards. Mine is from 2010 so maybe they're just honouring it?

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

nanotm — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 09:22:32 GMT

the email I got suggested they were moving over to ipv6 and abandoning ipv4 addresses, it also suggested they were going to stop allowing 3g internet in the coming months and use that for voice/text only, not sure if that's right but it was just a policy update letter and very poorly worded

if those suggestions are correct though it would explain why the new generation of sim cards don't work in older devices /

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

MJN — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 09:26:21 GMT

That's really interesting; thanks Nanotm. Could you post a copy of the email?

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 09:46:01 GMT

If 'Three' is soon to do IPv6 (which I doubt), I'm ready to try it.

I have a 'Three' USB dongle, with a 'Three' SIM card, plugged into a WAN socket on a DrayTek "2110N" IPv4+IPv6 wireless router - which I use as a mobile WiFi hotspot when I go away on holiday, or as an internet backup at home (if my ADSL ever failed).

My home network is fully IPv6 ready - except the Xbox 360, and my Gigaset VoIP base-station.

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

w23 — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 10:14:55 GMT

Have a look at: http://aa.net.uk/telecoms-mobile-data.html

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 11:22:33 GMT

I was aware of that SIM card, which was why I was doubtful about 'Three' offering IPv6, my reasoning being that if 'A&A' can't offer it yet, then it is unlikely anyone else can.

You cannot (yet) negotiate or pass native IPv6 or indeed any other protocols than legacy IPv4.

However, I do agree that product might suit @7up's requirements, assuming his traffic usage was quite low - as the £/MB is quite high, compared to typical mass-market consumer mobile data plans.

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

MJN — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 11:27:01 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

I was aware of that SIM card, which was why I was doubtful about 'Three' offering IPv6, my reasoning being that if 'A&A' can't offer it yet, then it is unlikely anyone else can.

A&A can only realistically offer what the underlying infrastructure supports. In this case Three is an underlying infrastructure and with IPv6 being well suited to address (no pun intended!) mobile operators' issues they are likely candidates to be moving in that direction.

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 11:34:16 GMT

Let's hope so !

You and I have been ready for going fully IPv6 for years !

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

7up — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 21:19:07 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

o agree that product might suit @7up's requirements, assuming his traffic usage was quite low - as the £/MB is quite high, compared to typical mass-market consumer mobile data plans.

I have looked at the A&A site and ruled them out simply because they do indeed have quite a high tariff and subscription cost.

I'm looking to run a pi, camera, gps and wifi from the remote device .. if i can ever find the bloomin money to do it. That said.. using the internet to communicate with it would substantially decrease my outlay and thanks to 3 that may still be possible.

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 21:48:08 GMT

@7up wrote:

.. using the internet to communicate with it would substantially decrease my outlay

Have you investigated fixed-wireless broadband in your area ?

My nearest fixed-wireless ISP is far cheaper than mobile 3G for high data usage
There are no phone line rental costs, so cheaper than ADSL internet.
Faster upload speeds than ADSL internet, typically 15Mbps(up), good for sending a video stream.
The wireless modem simply connects to your home router by PPPoE (just like an FTTC modem)

Re: Three... no longer giving out public IP addresses

7up — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 18:46:07 GMT

To be honest, I'd rather have the convenience of national coverage - for a good reason.

At the moment i'd like to build a land based rover / explorer for fun but whereas RC has a limited range, 3 and 4G doesn't. Apparently all 4G / LTE devices get an internal IP anyway but for whatever reason three don't enforce it on 3G broadband - i can only assume the older sims are different somehow.

This does of course leave me with a slight glitch that i only have one public ip on 3G whereas i could do with 2 so that i have a backup... but life is not perfect so i'll have to look into the vpn thing and see if i can get any joy there.

I'd also like to build a drone that has wireless internet connectivity but thats another expense for another decade...