A mobile proxy routes scraping requests through IP addresses assigned by mobile network operators (MNOs) to their subscribers' devices — 4G LTE and 5G connections from carriers like Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or carrier equivalents globally. These IPs carry the highest trust signals in IP reputation databases because they are associated with real mobile devices on licensed spectrum networks.
Mobile proxies have two characteristics that make them valuable for anti-bot evasion beyond residential proxies. First, mobile IPs are heavily NATted — hundreds or thousands of mobile devices share a single public IP through carrier-grade NAT. This means a high request rate from one mobile IP is not suspicious because it matches the natural traffic pattern of many concurrent users on that IP. Second, mobile carrier ASNs are distinct from both residential and datacenter ASNs, and some anti-bot systems apply more lenient policies to mobile carriers.
The tradeoff is cost and throughput: mobile proxies are typically 3-10x more expensive than residential proxies and have higher latency. They are the appropriate choice for the most aggressively protected targets where residential IPs are still being blocked. AlterLab's highest tiers include mobile carrier proxies for targets requiring maximum authenticity.