[TriLUG] Residential IPv4 address stability, etc. (AT&T vs. Google Fiber)

[David Burton via TriLUG]

I'm looking for some advice.

Can anyone who has either AT&T fiber or Google fiber please tell me about
how long your IPv4 assignments typically last?

I currently have "60 Mbps" Internet from Spectrum (née Time-Warner). It's
actually about 70 Mbps down and 6 Mbps up. I've been with them since
January, 2007, and apart from a 3-day outage in July, 2017, it's been
pretty good.

But both AT&T and Google have run fiber to my curb.

So far, I've stuck with Spectrum because:

   - I run a web server in my house, and I really appreciate that my IPv4
   address hasn't changed since early 2019.
   - Spectrum *was* slightly cheaper than the other options. (But no more!)
   - Inertia (if it ain't broke, don't fix it)


But Spectrum has quietly raised my rate from $60/mo to $80/mo, even though
the advertised price on Spectrum's Internet site
<https://official.spectrum.com/lfo-spectrumone> for 300 mbps is only $49.99
/ month.

They also show a special deal on their web site in which they also throw in
"Advanced WiFi" [normally $5/mo] and one unlimited mobile line [normally
$29.99/mo], total value $84.98, but for the first 12 months it's just
$49.99/mo, with auto-pay. Here's a screenshot (click to enlarge it
<https://sealevel.info/spectrum_lying_about_their_prices_2023-09-14.png>):

<https://sealevel.info/spectrum_lying_about_their_prices_2023-09-14.png>

So I called Spectrum and asked them, 'why did you hit me with an
unannounced 33% price increase?' They said my $59.99 rate (which I'd paid
for years) *was a promotional rate*, and it had expired, and they said the
regular rate for my 60 mbps Internet is $80/month. (Oddly, I didn't hear
him giggling, while telling that whopper to a customer who'd been with them
for 16¾ years.)

He also said the price change wasn't unannounced, because they'd mentioned
it on one of my previous bills (which I didn't read, of course, since I'm
signed up for auto-pay).

He also said Spectrum's regular price for 300 mbps Internet is actually
$85/month, even though their web site shows it as $49.99/month. "That's a
promotional price," he said. I asked him where the "regular" prices are, on
their web site. He said they aren't on the web site.

What a sleazy company!!!

So it's obviously time to move on. Google has 1 Gbps for $70/month. AT&T
has 300 Mbps, 500 Mbps, & 1 Gbps, for $55, $65, or $80, respectively. I
don't know what taxes & fees they charge.

AT&T has a reputation of being as sleazy as Spectrum, but I hate Google.
So, which is the lesser evil?

One thing which would be good to know is how long do IP address assignments
typically last with each company? Every time my IPv4 address changes, it'll
take my site offline for a few minutes, until my script notices it, and
updates the nameserver, and the change percolates out.

With Spectrum, the IPv6 addresses change very frequently, but their
"dynamic" IPv4 addresses are remarkably stable. That's wonderful (but not
wonderful enough for me to put up with the aforementioned abuse).

So, can anyone who has either AT&T fiber or Google fiber please tell me how
long your IPv4 assignments typically last?

Also, are there any other gotchas to impede you from hosting a web server
at home?

Thanks!
Dave