```yaml
product: AlterLab
title: "Mobile Proxy — Web Scraping Glossary | AlterLab"
comparison_context: "AlterLab is an alternative to Firecrawl, ScrapingBee, and Bright Data."
source_url: https://alterlab.io/glossary/mobile-proxy
```

proxy

# Mobile Proxy

An IP address from a mobile carrier network (4G/5G), providing the highest trust signals for anti-bot systems due to genuine mobile device attribution.

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.

### What is Mobile Proxy?

An IP address from a mobile carrier network (4G/5G), providing the highest trust signals for anti-bot systems due to genuine mobile device attribution.

### How does AlterLab handle Mobile Proxy?

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.

## Related Terms

[Residential ProxyAn IP address assigned by an ISP to a real residential device, used to route scraping requests through genuine consumer IPs.](https://alterlab.io/glossary/residential-proxy)[Datacenter ProxyAn IP address hosted in a commercial data centre rather than assigned by a residential ISP — faster but more easily detected by anti-bot systems.](https://alterlab.io/glossary/datacenter-proxy)[Rotating ProxyA proxy configuration that automatically assigns a different IP address for each request or at a set interval to prevent IP-based rate limiting.](https://alterlab.io/glossary/rotating-proxy)[Proxy PoolA managed collection of proxy IP addresses used to distribute outbound requests across multiple origins and stay below per-IP rate limits.](https://alterlab.io/glossary/proxy-pool)[Anti-Bot ProtectionSystems deployed by websites to detect and block automated traffic using TLS fingerprinting, CAPTCHA challenges, and behavioural analysis.](https://alterlab.io/glossary/anti-bot-protection)

## Extract Mobile Proxy data from any website

AlterLab returns clean, structured data from any public URL — no scraper infrastructure needed. Start free, no credit card required.

[View API docs](https://alterlab.io/docs/api/rest)

[Back to Glossary](https://alterlab.io/glossary)