(Tech) Mobile Internet... On a Linux Lappy

"I'm sorry sir our product does not support your OS."

-Typical Tech Support Response to non-windows and non-mac users.

I've been recently trying out different ways to connect to the Internet. So far I've tried the dongles from Smart (SmartBro) and Globe (Globe Tattoo). I haven't tried using Sun  (Sun Internet?) yet, though. I might regret getting one knowing how dismal their network coverage compare to the two others in my area. In its place though, I tethered my phone to connect to the net instead.

Setting up the devices may require a bit of patience. Don't bother calling tech support since they will not be able to help any Linux system user. A certain provider even went as far as asking me what OS I was using before I got to buy their Internet connection dongle. The guard/receptionist suddenly went asking, "What is your OS?" Sensing a degree of discrimination, Instead of giving in to my urges and saying "What does that have to do with the service you provide?" I just lied and said a generic answer,"Windows XP." I wasn't in a mood for an argument with them. :p

The best tech support one could have is in the forums, official or otherwise, of the Linux distribution one is using. It's where I've got my information if things don't work well for me after all. But if there's no solution there, there are other forums. Always remember-- you're not alone.

In this entry, I'll be posting my connection settings and how I was able to set up a working connection using the services of the three consumer mobile Internet service providers here in the Philippines.

SUN (3G Phone Tethering)

Let's start with something simple. I use a Nokia E63 as my primary phone, and setting this up to work on Ubuntu 9.10 was a cinch. Though I haven't tested it, I infer that recent 3G enabled S60 Nokia phones would behave in a fairly similar way. Here's how I've done it:

1. First of all make sure your phone is correctly configured to be able to access the internet. Usually this is enabled by default. 
2. Connect your phone via USB. Set the phone to "PC Suite" when connected via USB to the computer. 
3. Right-click on Network Manager and click on Edit Connections.
4. Under the Mobile Broadband tab, click on the add button. A wizard for creating a new connection will appear.
5. On the dropdown box, select your device. Ideally it should be the only one unless you plugged in other devices. Be sure to select the appropriate one and click Forward.
6. Select the country (For me, Philippines.), and click Forward.
7. Select the provider: Digitel (Sun Cellular) and click Forward.
8. After that just select the Default Plan and click Forward. 
9. Review that you're using the correct information and click Apply.
10. You can connect/disconnect by clicking on the Network Manager notification icon and selecting the appropriate network to connect/disconnect to.

SmartBro (Some slight adjustments required)

The SmartBro unit I got (a ZTE Branded unit, forgot the model number though since I gave it away shortly after) was easily detected. However it would require some fiddling on the settings first.

1. Plug in the USB device. Initially it will be detected as a storage device. Right-click on the icon that appears on the desktop and eject it. You don't need to install the drivers there. It's only for Windows. 
2. The unit has an indicator light, after ejecting it turns off. Wait a bit for it to light up again as it would switch to modem mode. 
3. Do steps 3 to 6 on the Sun Cellular steps above. 
4. Select the provider (Smart) and click forward. 
5. On the Billing Plan change the default value and select “My plan is not listed...” and type in smartbro as the Access Point Name(APN). Click Forward, then Apply. 
6. The properties window of the Connection you created will pop up. This is where you need to make some adjustments. 
7. Go to the PPP Settings tab and click “Configure Methods...” 
8. Uncheck everything except PAP and click OK. You might want to make it connect automatically for more convenience. But the drawback is that it may try connecting even if you're using a USB dongle from other providers, compelling you to manually disconnect it and choose the proper connection.
9. There may be times where it will not automatically, you may need to repeat steps 1 and 2 and manually selecting the proper connection on the Network Manager. 
10. Same as step 10 above. :)

Many thanks to the contributors on how to detect and configure the modem here:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1419799&highlight=zte+mf627

Globe Tattoo (Some ASSEMBLY required)

Though the “assembly” part sounds intimidating, it's actually fairly straightforward. It appears that the dongle model provided by Globe is not supported out of the box by Ubuntu 9.10. You'll need to get your hands dirty by installing some additional packages.

1. Open the terminal and type in: sudo aptitude install usb-modeswitch usb-modeswitch-data 

2. After successfully installing the the packages above, right-click on the Network Manager and Disable/Enable networking. 
3. Do steps 3-6 on the Sun section. 
4. For the provider, select Globe Telecom. 
5. On the Billing Plan change the default value and select “My plan is not listed...” and type in http.globe.com.ph as the Access Point Name(APN). Click Forward, then Apply. 
6. The properties window of the Connection you created will pop up. There is no need to make any further adjustments. 
7. Label and save your connection appropriately.
8. Same as step 10 above. :)

 Many thanks to the contributors on how to detect the modem here: 
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/546728/

The entry I posted is just one of the many ways on how to make the mobile connections work. These are the ones I found which work for me. If one should decide to search, there are many other solutions. It's all up to you to choose which solution you prefer. 

Happy mobile computing. :)