When you tap a link on your phone, the browser generates an HTTP request that needs to travel across the mobile network to reach a web server. Your phone first breaks this request into small data packets, each tagged with source and destination IP addresses. These packets are transmitted as radio waves to the nearest cell tower, which forwards them through the mobile core network. A gateway node called the User Plane Function in 5G networks connects the mobile network to the public internet, sending your packets onward to the web server hosting the page.