Glossary · Proxies
Mobile proxy
A mobile proxy is a proxy that sends your traffic out through a mobile network operator's 4G or 5G network, so the destination sees an address from the range that carrier assigns to phones on its network.
Reviewed 30 Oct 2026
Why carrier addresses behave differently
Public IPv4 addresses are scarce, and many providers put subscribers behind carrier-grade NAT: one public address shared by many customers at once, told apart by port. RFC 6598 reserves the shared address space this runs on, and RFC 6888 sets the default that each subscriber keeps one external address for all of its sessions.
The practical consequence is that an address on a carrier network is rarely one person. A site that blocks it outright blocks a crowd of real customers, so mobile ranges tend to be handled with more caution than fixed-line or hosting addresses.
When a mobile exit is the right tool
- Ad placements bought against mobile carrier traffic, which a fixed line never sees — see mobile ad verification.
- Pages and app-linked web surfaces that branch on the network type.
- Checks where the question is literally what a phone user on a given carrier is shown.
For everything else a residential proxy reaches more countries, takes city targeting and usually costs less per GB.
Limits to plan around on ARC Mobile
| Property | ARC Mobile |
|---|---|
| Countries | Germany, United Kingdom, United States, Japan |
| City targeting | None — country level only |
| Sticky session | 5 to 60 minutes, enforced upstream |
| Connection strings | Generated for you on a separate mobile gateway |
| Price per GB | Top list price, shared with ARC Ultra; the shallowest volume ladder |
Details and the current price are on the mobile proxies page.
FAQ
Questions
Something not covered? Write to contact@arcproxies.io.
Is a mobile proxy the same as a residential proxy?
No. Both use consumer addresses, but a residential proxy exits through a fixed home connection and a mobile proxy through a mobile operator's network. Carrier addresses are commonly shared by many subscribers behind carrier-grade NAT, which is the property a mobile proxy is bought for.
Can I target a city with a mobile proxy?
Not on ARC Mobile, which is country level only in Germany, the UK, the US and Japan. Carrier addresses do not map cleanly onto metros, so plan mobile checks nationally and use a residential pool where the city matters.
How long does a mobile proxy keep the same IP?
On ARC Mobile you choose a sticky duration between 5 and 60 minutes when the endpoint is generated, and the cap is enforced upstream. Without a sticky session the address can change between connections.
Why do mobile proxies cost more per GB?
Carrier bandwidth costs more to source than fixed-line or hosted traffic. ARC Mobile is bought upstream at a flat rate, so its list price sits at the top of the range and its volume ladder is far shallower than the residential pools'.
Sources & review
Last reviewed by the ARC Proxies team. Prices are read from the live catalog at build time.
In practice