Digi Spain: Cheap Fiber, Strained Mobile Network, Default CG-NAT

Digi Spain: Cheap Fiber, Strained Mobile Network, Default CG-NAT

Digi's fiber works. Its mobile service does not. This conclusion repeats among users who have been with the Romanian operator for months, debunking the narrative of a telecom crushing competitors with low prices. The savings are real — some have dropped from paying €58 with Euskaltel to €16 per month with Digi — but the service is far from homogeneous. And the technical detail generating the most queries, the famous CG-NAT, has an answer: according to several customers, Digi applies it by default and charges an extra €1 per month for a dynamic public IP.

Does Digi provide an HGU or separate router and ONT?

It depends on the package. For 1 Gbps lines, the installation comes with separate ONT and router; for 10 Gbps lines, both are integrated into a single device. The technician who performed the installation gave a revealing response: the company considers two devices "better." For those wanting to set up their own firewall, having an independent ONT is an advantage, not a defect: one only needs to know the VLAN through which provider traffic travels and plug in whatever they wish.

Shared IP and the tracert trick

CG-NAT is the main doubt. Several customers confirm that Digi applies it: hundreds of subscribers share the same public IP, causing issues on websites that limit access by IP. The solution involves paying €1 monthly for a dynamic, not static, IP. To check if you are behind CG-NAT, there is a homemade method circulating: run a tracert to your own public IP. If only one hop appears, there is no CG-NAT. If several appear, there is.

Own fiber versus rented fiber

The other factor changing everything is the network. Where Digi deploys its own fiber, the service is stable, fast, and withstands power cuts. Where it resells Movistar's network, it offers nothing special. Mobile coverage, however, is poor: it drops frequently, calls cut out, and some users have no signal at all. The explanation given is that the capacity rented from Movistar is saturated due to massive customer acquisition.

The undisputed savings

The numbers are hard to refute. Some pay €13 per month for 500 Mb fiber, landline, and two mobile lines with 50 GB shared, after a retention offer. Another case: €24 for 600 Mb and two lines of 10 and 20 GB. Compared to the €70 a customer was paying for the full pack, the counter-offer from their current operator remained at €40. The saving of €30 per month was enough for them to stay, but not out of loyalty: rather to avoid changing router and ONT.

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The question left hanging is whether this price is sustainable. Digi acquires customers at a rate that fills streets with vans, and the rented mobile network already shows signs of saturation. If the savings hold when the network collapses, the Romanian operator will have won the game. If not, the bargain will last only as long as it takes to fill a spectrum that isn't theirs.