Did Shaw change to a Carrier Grade NAT since the introduction of Bluecurve?

[chopstickboy1]

I have been a Shaw customer for many many years, and in the past before Bluecurve and Ignite plans were introduced and I was on a 500Mbps speed plan, I had the Hitron modem/router for my internet service. Since upgrading to Bluecurve for faster speeds, my Hitron was replaced with the XB* series modem/routers. I have always configured the Shaw modem/routers to bridge mode (shutting off the router function) and have been using a mid-grade router for my networking needs (along with port forwarding rules). I had no issues until the XB* modem/routers were introduced. Same setup by configuring the XB* modem to bridge mode, but none of my port forwarding rules apply any longer. I just gave up and just settled for not being able to port forward for the last 2-3 years. I just upgraded to a 1.5G plan with hopes that a newer model XB* modem would resolve my issues. Unfortunately this did not fix my inability to port forward.

Finally after digging in the interwebs and several hours of research, what I discovered was that the IP4 on the modem is not the same as the IP4 when I check via the web (https://whatismyipaddress.com/). This is a clear indicator that the internet provider is using a CGNAT. And CGNAT's don't allow functionality for port forwarding.

Shaw, please apply public IP subscription to my account. Moving to a CGNAT and not notifying your customers is not transparent and arguably shady business practices. I have heard several customers with similar port forwarding difficulties similar to mine that have left Shaw to move to competitors due because of this. I also feel a bit cheated as this move to CGNAT's limit the functionality of the service provided, since all the endless hours and calls with a customer service rep and technical rep and all suggested to me it was my network setup that was at fault. This has been insulting and I'm sure other customers feel just as cheated knowing that it was due to a business decision at Shaw and arguably hidden from customers intentionally.

[mdk]

@chopstickboy1 wrote: Same setup by configuring the modem to bridge mode, but none of my port forwarding rules apply any longer. 

That is correct. By bridging, you have disabled all the "routing" features within the XB8 device, and that includes all port-forwarding rules.  Thus, 100% of the incoming traffic passes-through the cable-modem into the WAN port on your third-party router.  You should add your port-forwarding rules into your own router.