A Guide to 3G Wireless Modems

Date January 22, 2009

huawei

Mobile Broadband is the latest craze that is a brilliant marriage of a high speed broadband connection that you might expect to receive down your land line and the freedom of movement afforded by mobile networking technology. An important cog in the mobile broadband machine is the Mobile Broadband wireless modem, which in its most common form is a USB dongle that is provided free or for a small cost when you sign up to a mobile broadband contract with a particular provider. But what is a wireless modem, how does it work and what are the best ones offered by providers in the UK?

Wireless Modem Technology and Manufacturers

A majority of wireless modems are produced as USB dongles which are small and conveniently sized to allow for portability and ease of use because they will slot into any laptop or PC with a USB port, and this has largely been responsible for the recent growth of mobile broadband in the UK. There are a variety of different manufacturers producing USB modems for the large mobile networks who provide mobile broadband in the UK, but one of the most respect and widely used is Huawei, who make products used by 3 Mobile for their mobile broadband services. Currently 3 Mobile are the UK`s largest mobile broadband provider and also have the largest area of network coverage with 90% of the UK able to connect to their high speed 3G networks and access the wonders of mobile broadband. The Huawei range of USB wireless modems offered are designed to not just perform at the top of their class but also come in a variety of different styles that make them little works of art and a pleasure t!
o plug in. All of the wireless modems offered on a 3 Mobile package are capable of achieving a maximum download speed of 3.6Mbps in any area of the country covered by 3`s turbo network, and upload speeds of up to 346Kbps are available.

Choosing a Mobile Broadband Provider

The best way to get the most out of a mobile broadband package is to use an internet comparison website which lists all of the major networks who provide mobile broadband packages and compare them depending on the factors that you want most from a mobile broadband package. If you want value for money in terms of a generous monthly allowance then 3 Mobile broadband packages are often ranked highest because their £15 a month price plan can be had with 3GB of usage included, allowing 3000 emails and 30 hours of web use a month. If you want a speedier connection offering up to 7.2Mbps then you might consider other providers, like Vodafone, but bear in mind that unless you`re in an area that is very well serviced by the mobile broadband networks then you may not achieve the potential top speed advertised. However, mobile broadband speeds have not reached their limit. As new networking technologies are developed and new networks rolled out across the country expect to see much wider coverage for mobile broadband and faster speeds available to everyone.

How to connect to the internet using Celcom Broadband Modem

Date January 22, 2009

Luckily, I got my hand on my friend’s Celcom Broadband USB HSDPA Modem. The model is E220. Fortunately on Mandriva, you don’t need to type a command. It’s all in the comfort of GUI.
below is the step-by-step process:

1. Open MCC (Mandriva Control Center) and then select Network & Internet (left frame) and then open Setup a new network interface.

2. Select GPRS/Edge/3G and click Next button.

3. The device should be shown and selected here. If not, you have to check whether Linux detected it using lsusb command. In many cases, this shouldn’t be a problem for Linux detecting a USB device. Then click the Next button.

4. It will ask you for PIN number. One problem here. You have to enable PIN Protection for your card by going into MS Windows and use the software provided by TM to enable the PIN Protection. It is disabled by default. If it is disabled, you will get error after this even the PIN number is correct. After enable the PIN Protection, you can boot back into Linux and enter the PIN number as in the pic below. Then click Next.

5. This dialog opens and you can just click Next.

6. Select the option as below and then click Next.

7. For dialog as below, just leave all fields blank. Click Next.

8. Finish. A window will appear telling you that the settings has been configured successfully. Click Finish button to close it.

9. You can see the /var/log/messages on what’s been going on and important info like IP address, APN, netmask, gateway and handshakes during the connection process.

Example log:
Dec 21 23:50:42 localhost ifup-ppp: pppd started for ppp0 on /dev/ttyUSB0 at 115200
Dec 21 23:50:42 localhost pppd[2605]: pppd 2.4.4 started by root, uid 0
Dec 21 23:50:49 localhost pppd[2605]: Serial connection established.
Dec 21 23:50:49 localhost pppd[2605]: Using interface ppp0
Dec 21 23:50:49 localhost pppd[2605]: Connect: ppp0 <–> /dev/ttyUSB0
Dec 21 23:50:53 localhost pppd[2605]: Could not determine remote IP address: defaulting to 10.64.64.64
Dec 21 23:50:53 localhost pppd[2605]: local IP address 10.58.182.246
Dec 21 23:50:53 localhost pppd[2605]: remote IP address 10.64.64.64
Dec 21 23:50:53 localhost pppd[2605]: primary DNS address 202. 188.0.133
Dec 21 23:50:53 localhost pppd[2605]: secondary DNS address 202.188.1.5

That’s all there is to it. Good luck guys!