Quick answer
What is a mobile proxy?
A mobile proxy is a proxy server whose outgoing connection runs over a cellular network, so the sites you visit see an IP address owned by a mobile carrier such as T-Mobile, Vodafone or Jio. The traffic leaves through a 4G or 5G modem holding a SIM card. CellMast, a 4G/5G mobile proxy provider, rents dedicated modems from $2.63/day and per-GB mobile data from $1.50/GB, with no KYC and payment in crypto.
Mobile proxies in one table
| Exit network | A mobile carrier (4G LTE or 5G) |
|---|---|
| IP owner | The carrier, visible as its ASN in any IP database |
| Hardware | A cellular modem or phone with a SIM card |
| Sharing | Carriers put many subscribers behind one public IPv4 address (CGNAT) |
| Two products | Dedicated port (one modem for you) or rotating pool (billed per GB) |
| Protocols | Usually HTTP(S) and SOCKS5 |
| Typical 2026 prices | Among 23 providers: rotating pools about $2–7.50 per GB under 10 GB, lower on large plans; dedicated ports about $3.50–20 per day and $27–250 per 30 days, by country (checked 2026-10-13, see the price index) |
| Main uses | App QA, mobile ad checks, mobile SERP tracking, business account management |
What are the three parts of a mobile proxy?
Every mobile proxy, from a phone on a desk to a rack of modems, has the same three parts.
- The radio side: a SIM and a modem. The SIM is a normal subscription with a carrier. The modem attaches to the nearest cell mast and gets an IP address from the carrier.
- The carrier network. Your traffic crosses the carrier's core network and leaves through the carrier's internet gateway. That exit decides which IP address and which ASN the destination site sees.
- The proxy software and gateway. A small server forwards your HTTP or SOCKS5 connection to the modem. With CellMast you connect to
gw.cellmast.comon port 7777 (HTTP) or 7778 (SOCKS5) and the gateway sends your traffic to your modem.
The SIM and the modem are what you pay for. A modem costs electricity, the SIM costs a data plan, and someone has to keep both online. That is why a dedicated mobile port costs more per day than a datacenter IP.
What does a website see when I use a mobile proxy?
A website sees three things that matter:
- An IP address from a carrier range. A lookup on the address returns the carrier's name and its autonomous system number, for example AS21928 for T-Mobile USA or AS2856 for BT, which originates EE's mobile prefixes in the UK.
- A connection type flagged as mobile or cellular by IP intelligence databases, based on that ASN.
- A location close to the carrier's gateway, which can be a region or a city rather than the exact modem position.
The site does not see the SIM number, the modem or your own IP. It still sees everything your browser or app sends, such as cookies, fingerprint and login. A proxy changes the network, not the device.
Why do mobile IPs get blocked less than datacenter IPs?
Because many real people share them. Carriers run carrier-grade NAT, so one public IPv4 address can carry the traffic of many phones at the same time. Cloudflare wrote in October 2025 that "a single IPv4 address may represent hundreds or even thousands of users". Blocking such an address blocks paying customers too, so sites tend to use softer limits.
The same Cloudflare post adds a caution: CGNAT addresses are rate-limited three times more often than other addresses. Mobile IPs are trusted, not untouchable. The CGNAT guide explains what this means for request pacing.
Dedicated port or rotating pool: what is the difference?
The two products answer different needs.
| Dedicated port | Rotating pool | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | One modem and SIM reserved for you | Many modems shared by many customers |
| Billing | Per day, week or month, unlimited data | Per GB used |
| IP changes | When you ask: link, API or timer | Every request, or sticky for a set time |
| Choice | Country, often carrier and city | Country |
| Best for | One stable identity: an app test, a client account, long sessions | Many short requests: price checks, SERP sampling |
| CellMast price | From $2.63/day | From $1.50/GB |
Details: dedicated mobile proxies and rotating mobile proxies.
Is a mobile proxy the same as a VPN or a SIM card?
No.
- Not a VPN. A VPN usually tunnels all your device's traffic through a datacenter server. A mobile proxy handles the connections you point at it, and exits through a carrier. Some providers wrap a mobile modem in a VPN protocol, but the exit is still the carrier.
- Not a SIM for you. You never hold the SIM. You cannot make calls or receive SMS through a CellMast port: ports carry proxy traffic only.
- Not a residential proxy. Residential proxies exit through home broadband lines (cable, fibre, DSL). They cover more cities and cost less per GB; mobile IPs are rarer, more shared and more expensive.
How much does a mobile proxy cost in 2026?
Mobile proxies are the most expensive common proxy type, because each IP needs a modem and a data plan. On the public price pages of the 23 providers we priced on 2026-10-13, rotating mobile data cost about $2 to $7.50 per GB for purchases under 10 GB, with some larger plans below $1, and a dedicated port about $3.50 to $20 per day, or $27 to $250 per 30 days, depending on the country and the provider. The mobile proxy price index lists each provider with its source.
CellMast ports cost $45 for 30 days in the US or Canada and $72.75 in the UK; rotating data costs $1.50 for 1 GB. All prices are on the pricing page.
How can I check that a proxy is really mobile?
Run three checks on the IP your proxy gives you:
- Look up the ASN. Use
curl -xthrough the proxy to an IP echo service, then look the address up in a public IP database. The holder should be a mobile carrier, not a hosting company. - Rotate and compare. On a dedicated port, rotate once. The new address should stay inside the same carrier's ranges.
- Check the connection type in an IP intelligence service: it should say mobile or cellular.
A "mobile" proxy whose ASN belongs to a cloud host is a datacenter proxy with a mobile label.
curl -x http://USERNAME:[email protected]:7777 https://api.ipify.org
# then look up the address, e.g. https://ipinfo.io/<IP>When is a mobile proxy the wrong tool?
Skip mobile IPs when:
- you need terabytes of page downloads at the lowest cost: residential or datacenter IPs cost less per GB;
- you need a fixed IP for months for a firewall allow-list: carrier IPs change by design;
- you need a specific street or ZIP code: carrier gateways geolocate to a region or city, not a street;
- the task is against a site's rules. A carrier IP does not make a forbidden use allowed; see the Acceptable Use Policy.
Mobile proxies: short answers
Is a 4G proxy the same as an LTE proxy?
Yes. LTE is the radio standard behind most 4G networks, so sellers use "4G proxy", "LTE proxy" and "4G LTE proxy" for the same product: a proxy that exits through a 4G modem on a carrier SIM. A 5G proxy uses a 5G-capable modem where the carrier offers 5G. See 4G vs 5G proxies.
Are mobile proxies legal?
Using a proxy is legal in most countries; what you do through it must also be legal and must follow the target site's rules. CellMast allows app testing, ad and price checks, mobile SEO and managing your own or your clients' accounts, and bans fraud, spam and credential attacks in its Acceptable Use Policy. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do mobile proxies give a new IP every time?
On a dedicated port, the IP changes when you call the rotation link or the API; otherwise the port keeps its IP, although the carrier can change it on its own from time to time. On a rotating pool, each new connection can get a new IP, or a sticky session keeps one IP for the time you set (ttl, in minutes), up to 30 minutes; the IP can change earlier.
Can I buy a mobile proxy without ID?
Yes, at CellMast. There is no KYC: no ID, no selfie, no documents. Login with an account number; email is optional. You top up from $25 in BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC and buy a port or data from the balance. Several larger providers do ask for identity checks; the no-KYC page compares them.
How fast is a mobile proxy?
As fast as the carrier connection at the modem's location, minus the extra hop through the gateway. 5G modems in good coverage are faster than 4G; rural 4G can be slow. CellMast publishes no speed figure it has not measured. Test a one-day port on your own target before a longer rental.
Try a real carrier IP for a day
Dedicated 4G/5G ports from $2.63/day, rotating data from $1.50/GB. Pay in crypto.
Sources (4)
- Detecting CGN to reduce collateral damage — Cloudflare (2025-10-29)
- RFC 6598: IANA-Reserved IPv4 Prefix for Shared Address Space — RFC Editor
- AS21928 T-Mobile USA — ipinfo
- RIPEstat network info for EE mobile prefixes (AS2856) — RIPE NCC