does anyone else have variable IP by default?

[Pythonfriend]

I am just curious, and here in Germany it is not unusual, many internet service providers will provide full service at high speed without ever assigning a stable IP. Which means i have an IP number that is part of a pool, and every few hours i get a new one. If i stay online for many hours, i will get a forced disconnect that lasts a few seconds, and come back online with a new IP adress.

For others in Germany this will not be unusual at all, its normal, but i would like to ask: how is it in the USA and elsewhere? as far as i know, in the USA, stable IPs are the norm. correct me if im wrong, im trying to figure this stuff out.

so if you have a stable IP, how hard or easy is it for you to permanently change it? is it just a call to your internet service provider and they immediately give you a new adress, no questions asked? do you have a stable IP?

(i do have a choice, i can choose between several providers, some provide stable IPs, many use variable IP).

if you could choose, would you choose an internet service provider that gives you one IP that lasts forever, or would you choose an internet service provider that changes your IP every few hours?

[Pyrate81]

I once worked for a cable company called Comcast. The way they "said" they worked it was you would "rent" an IP from them and they would change it at the end of each billing cycle. What really happens is you keep the same one until they feel like changing it at any given time. Sometimes you could power cycle the modem and get a new IP or sometimes you would have the same IP for a long while. I believe they still operate the same way.


Oh if you can't see it on the side, I'm in Philadelphia, PA, USA.