Budget Overview
100 4G proxies: ~$10-30K setup + $500-1500/mo operating.
- Hardware: Raspberry Pi ($50-80 each) or Android phones ($100-200). 100 units = $5-20K
- 4G SIM cards: $5-15/month per unit. 100 units = $500-1500/mo (use bulk carrier plans)
- Server infra: Load balancer, storage, monitoring = $200-500/mo
- Carrier network: CGNAT NAT = automatic. No extra cost (built into mobile plans)
Hardware Options
Raspberry Pi 4 + USB 4G modem: Cheapest, slowest (1-5 req/sec). Good for hobby.
Android phones (Xiaomi Redmi Note series): Real device, real OS. Medium cost, reliable. Used by most commercial operators.
Industrial IoT gateways (Cradlepoint, Sierra Wireless): Expensive ($500-1000), reliable, carrier-grade. Enterprise.
Architecture
Per-device HTTP server (port 8080) → load balancer routes requests → devices make requests via 4G. Simple: store device IPs, rotate across them. Advanced: distribute by geolocation (US, EU, APAC), by carrier (Verizon, AT&T, etc.).
Bulk carrier plans (T-Mobile business, AT&T for SMB) offer per-device data costs of $10-15/mo instead of $40-50 consumer plans. 100 devices saves $3000/mo.
Challenges
Carrier deprioritization (too much data = slow). Device management (OS updates, crashes). Power consumption (100 Pis = 3KW constant). Network instability (4G fluctuates based on network load).