Discover What Mobile Proxies Are and Why You Need Them

Feb 28, 2024, 11:54 PM
4 minutes

Mobile proxies work through cellular communication (mobile internet 3G, 4G/LTE, 5G) - this is the key difference. The IP address is assigned by the mobile operator, and internet services have more trust in such IPv4 addresses than in the IP addresses of regular internet providers and data centers. An additional advantage of the technology is the IP change function. In this article, you will also learn why mobile proxies are so expensive and the differences between proxies and VPNs.

Why is there more trust in mobile proxies?

The main thesis is that mobile devices belong to real people. Mobile proxies work on physical mobile devices (smartphones or USB modems) that connect to the internet through a mobile operator. Each device is assigned a temporary external IP address, which changes when the device reconnects to the internet, changes its geolocation, or times out. Based on the technology, a large number of subscribers can use the same IP address within a month, up to thousands. This is why internet services do not ban IP addresses from mobile operators and requests from them. Captchas are shown to mobile internet users much less frequently.

What is the difference between mobile proxies and regular ones?

Regular proxies are server data center proxies. The external IP address of such a proxy is within the data center subnet range. Trust in such IP addresses is low, so it is very easy to get banned on a website. Data center address ranges are publicly available, allowing internet services to configure network firewalls in advance and have stricter control over users with such IPs.

	Mobile Proxy	Regular (server) proxy
Trust of internet services	High	Medium
IP rotation	Available	Only by changing the proxy itself for an additional fee
Price	Higher	Lower

So what is a proxy anyway? And what is the difference from VPN?

A proxy is a server that acts as an intermediary. It receives a request from you and forwards (proxies) it to another node (ultimately a website). The website does not see you, it only sees the proxy server and responds to it, and the proxy forwards the response to you. Proxying can be done at the level of an individual protocol or application (program), as well as at the level of the entire internet connection.

	Proxy	VPN
Trust of internet services	Medium	Low
Speed	Higher	Lower
IP rotation	Available (only on mobile or by changing servers)	Not available
Additional encryption (tunneling)	Not available	Available
Traffic	At the level of individual protocol, application (program), or at the level of the entire internet connection	Only at the level of the entire internet connection
Price	Lower	Higher

Why are mobile proxies so expensive?

The architecture of mobile proxies is much more complex than server proxies, its maintenance costs a lot of money:
- Payment for mobile SIM cards and internet on them;
- Amortization of the cost of mobile devices (smartphones, USB modems) and internet equipment;
- Payment for software that manages mobile devices and creates proxies on them;
- Payment for electricity;
- Payment for home internet channel, through which you connect to mobile devices;
- Commission of the service that sells mobile proxies;
- Profit of the proxy owner.
The final price of the proxy can vary greatly depending on the region. In the USA, for example, the cost of mobile and home internet starts from $30 per month.

What is the speed of mobile proxies?

It is difficult to answer this question definitively.
The speed depends on:
- The internet speed of the mobile operator;
- The distance between the mobile proxy and the cellular tower and the degree of internet channel load;
- Equipment;
- Home internet speed;
- The distance from you to the proxy;
- The distance from the proxy to your target website.
Our measurements show that the average speed of a private mobile proxy is 10 Mbps.

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