[ Date Index ] [ Thread Index ] [ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]
On 10/02/2010 16:09, Paul Sutton wrote:
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hi I was looking at getting one of those mobile broadband things that plug in to the usb port, aparently I need extra drivers adn stuff to get it working under Linux, not sure, but I am not really that confident with stuff like that
Who told you this?I think you'll find most (if not all) USB/PC Card 3G modems on the market are supported as Serial devices now. In Ubuntu 9.04/9.10 at least (and probably a fair few other distros) there is support built in for mobile broadband connections.
Yep, it converts the 3G signal to wifi. Means carrying around and remembering to charge another device though. Not so bad I guess if you want a mobile wifi connection to use with other devices too.however the following in the 3 store caught my eye http://threestore.three.co.uk/broadband/?id=1397 so it seems i don't need to actually plug it in to my computer so don't need to worry about drivers
I'd think about how much you're going to use it. I bought my Vodafone modem basically because it had 1GB of allowance that doesn't expire (at least it hasn't expired in a year). I very rarely use it, but I still have about £9 left on it (about 600 ish Meg I think). It suits me down to the ground as when I'm out I tend to use the data allowance on my phone (and also the browser/putty on my phone). 1GB of allowance on Vodafone is about £15 I think.not sure what to get really it seems the offers are only on for a short period of time so by the time i have saved up the offer is closed, which is their loss really.
However if you're going to use it all the time then maybe you'd be better off on something like Three where you pay X amount for 30 days (something like £10 for 1GB for 30 days or £15 for 3GB for 30 days, and I believe £25 for 5GB for 30 days). The problem with Three is if you don't use all the allowance within the 30 days, it's lost, so if like me, you only use say 500MB, you've lost 500MB.
On the other hand, if you want something in between, look at T-Mobile and O2. They do a pay per day/week/month offer where you can say pay for a day (something like £2) and you get something like 500MB to use in that day, great for if you want to use a lot of data in one day. I think a week is about £10 which gives you about 1GB for the week, and something like £15 for the month (which I gather gives you about 3GB). The thing is, when the time period is up, you loose the unused data. I gather with O2 you also get free wifi when you pay for the day/week/month of broadband which is handy if you're near a suitable wifi hotspot.
As John mentioned too, it's worth checking with regards to reception. I find my Vodafone modem (and my Three mobile) work pretty well in towns and cities, but where I live the reception is patchy (I find it's better on Three in my area).
Yes it works out of the box. On Ubuntu 9.04/9.10 you simply plug it in and set it up with an easy to follow wizard in network manager (the program that deals with network connections in Ubuntu). You choose the country, the network provider and then the type of connection (Contract, Prepay etc).I think rob b has confirmed the vodafone usb modem thing works out of the box or does it require some sort of drivers, doing google comes up with a variety of answers, none of which seem to point to a simple installation.
There is also Vodafone software available for 3G modems, have a look at this: http://www.betavine.net/bvportal/resources/datacards
I managed to get it working on Ubuntu 8.04 with a Three USB modem. It was branded Vodafone on the software at the time but it worked with Three.
Rob -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html