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(Telstra) Wireless Broadband USB Modem under Linux?



 
 
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  #11  
Old October 4th, 2008, 08:17 PM posted to aus.comms.mobile,rec.travel.australia+nz,aus.computers.linux
Frank Slootweg
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 275
Default (Telstra) Wireless Broadband USB Modem under Linux?

First of all thanks to all respondents!

Will Kemp wrote:
[...]

An alternative is to use a mobile phone with bluetooth and connect to
the net via bluetooth on the laptop and the mobile. That will definitely
work with Linux. I've done it without problems on Telstra's "NextG" network.


Earlier I said that I would prefer not to buy an UMTS/3G phone, but
I've since reconsidered:

My current Dutch GSM phone with pre-paid Telstra SIM, has very bad
coverage, especially in the rural/outback areas where we intend to go.
And a NextG pre-paid phone seems to cost about the same as the Telstra
Wireless Broadband USB Modem ($149), so I might as well buy a NextG
pre-paid phone and kill two birds with one stone, better coverage for
normal voice calls (and SMS) and broadband Internet for my Linux mini-
notebook.

I've studied the information on Telstra's Pre-Paid Mobile Broadband page
(http://www.telstra.com.au/telstraprepaidplus/broadband/unplanned.html
and it looks like the Samsung A411 ($149) and LG TU500 ($179) NextG
Pre-Paid phones will give the best rural coverage (Telstra Blue Tick
handset) and offer Bluetooth and Internet (see [1] below).

But now the problem/questions for/from this clueless newbie:

How to proceed from here?

The NextG phones apparently have a USB connection to the notebook, but
the software which comes with the phone is again for (MS-)Windows. What
do I need to do on the Linux side? (My mini-notebook has three USB
ports, so the hardware side is not a problem.)

And about the Bluetooth connection which you mention: The Telstra
information talks about "Stereo Bluetooth" i.e. for things like audio
headsets, but what about the Bluetooth phone-to-computer connection
which you mention, can these phones do that, and if so, what do I need
to do on the Linux side?

My mini-notebook does not have Bluetooth, so I will have to buy/use a
Bluetooth USB-'stick' for that. Would that be easy to configure/use
under Linux?

N.B. An added complication is that I have to prepare, configure, etc.
this stuff at home in The Netherlands, *without* the phone, NextG
network, etc., because I can only buy the phone on arrival in Oz. And
once I am in Oz, I have no (other) Internet access, so I can't lookup
things on the web before the mobile Internet connection works, Catch-22.

Sorry for these newbie questions, but *this* stuff is completely new
for me.

BTW, my Linux version in Linplus Linux Lite, which is based on
(Red Hat) Fedora (http://www.linpus.com and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linpus_Linux).

FYI, I have extensive professional UNIX (HP-UX) experience, but
practically no Linux experience. I have sufficient hardwired and WiFi
networking experience, but the latter only on (MS-)Windows. Same for
USB. I have no Bluetooth experience.

Again thanks in advance for any and all response. And thanks for
reading this far! :-)

[1]
https://shop.telstra.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=11651&categoryId=30920
  #12  
Old October 4th, 2008, 08:42 PM posted to aus.comms.mobile,rec.travel.australia+nz,aus.computers.linux
Polly the Parrot
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4
Default (Telstra) Wireless Broadband USB Modem under Linux?

On Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:17:07 +0200 Frank Slootweg
wrote:

My mini-notebook does not have Bluetooth, so I will have to buy/use a
Bluetooth USB-'stick' for that. Would that be easy to configure/use
under Linux?


What distro do you have?
  #13  
Old October 4th, 2008, 08:48 PM posted to aus.comms.mobile,rec.travel.australia+nz,aus.computers.linux
Frank Slootweg
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 275
Default (Telstra) Wireless Broadband USB Modem under Linux?

Polly the Parrot wrote:
On Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:17:07 +0200 Frank Slootweg
wrote:

My mini-notebook does not have Bluetooth, so I will have to buy/use a
Bluetooth USB-'stick' for that. Would that be easy to configure/use
under Linux?


What distro do you have?


That was hidden somewhere in my longish article! :-) :

BTW, my Linux version in Linplus Linux Lite, which is based on
(Red Hat) Fedora (http://www.linpus.com and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linpus_Linux).

  #14  
Old October 4th, 2008, 09:09 PM posted to aus.comms.mobile,rec.travel.australia+nz,aus.computers.linux
Polly the Parrot
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4
Default (Telstra) Wireless Broadband USB Modem under Linux?

On Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:48:51 +0200 Frank Slootweg
wrote:

That was hidden somewhere in my longish article! :-) :


Too lazy to look for it! ;-)

BTW, my Linux version in Linplus Linux Lite, which is based on
(Red Hat) Fedora (http://www.linpus.com and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linpus_Linux).


May have driver, why not ask in redhat ng?

  #15  
Old October 4th, 2008, 09:55 PM posted to aus.comms.mobile,rec.travel.australia+nz,aus.computers.linux
Will Kemp
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6
Default (Telstra) Wireless Broadband USB Modem under Linux?

Frank Slootweg wrote:
First of all thanks to all respondents!

Will Kemp wrote:
[...]

An alternative is to use a mobile phone with bluetooth and connect to
the net via bluetooth on the laptop and the mobile. That will definitely
work with Linux. I've done it without problems on Telstra's "NextG" network.


Earlier I said that I would prefer not to buy an UMTS/3G phone, but
I've since reconsidered:

My current Dutch GSM phone with pre-paid Telstra SIM, has very bad
coverage, especially in the rural/outback areas where we intend to go.
And a NextG pre-paid phone seems to cost about the same as the Telstra
Wireless Broadband USB Modem ($149), so I might as well buy a NextG
pre-paid phone and kill two birds with one stone, better coverage for
normal voice calls (and SMS) and broadband Internet for my Linux mini-
notebook.

I've studied the information on Telstra's Pre-Paid Mobile Broadband page
(http://www.telstra.com.au/telstraprepaidplus/broadband/unplanned.html
and it looks like the Samsung A411 ($149) and LG TU500 ($179) NextG
Pre-Paid phones will give the best rural coverage (Telstra Blue Tick
handset) and offer Bluetooth and Internet (see [1] below).

But now the problem/questions for/from this clueless newbie:

How to proceed from here?

The NextG phones apparently have a USB connection to the notebook, but
the software which comes with the phone is again for (MS-)Windows. What
do I need to do on the Linux side? (My mini-notebook has three USB
ports, so the hardware side is not a problem.)

And about the Bluetooth connection which you mention: The Telstra
information talks about "Stereo Bluetooth" i.e. for things like audio
headsets, but what about the Bluetooth phone-to-computer connection
which you mention, can these phones do that, and if so, what do I need
to do on the Linux side?

My mini-notebook does not have Bluetooth, so I will have to buy/use a
Bluetooth USB-'stick' for that. Would that be easy to configure/use
under Linux?


I think so, if you get the right one. However, that depends on whether
or not there's decent bluetooth support in the distro you're using (if
it's what comes pre-installed on the computer, and the computer hasn't
got bluetooth, it may not have it. You'll need to ask about that in a
forum that's specific to that distro.

Last time i did it was about a year ago and i was using fedora 8. It was
reasonably easy, although it took me a little while to work it out. Of
course, i intended to write it up at the time, but i didn't - and now i
can't remember clearly what it involved.

Basically, the phone acts as a modem - which is a standard bluetooth
service. You have to pair the computer and the mobile, using hciattach
(with the help of hcitool to find the phone's bluetooth address). This
creates a pty (pseudo tty). Then you use something like wvdial to
connect to the modem/phone via the pty and dial. The principle's simple
really, but it's not necessarily easy to work it out.

The above is my recollection from a year ago - i'd recommend googling
connect internet bluetooth linux 'mobile phone" or something along

those lines. You'll need to find the code to "dial" for an internet
connection over telstra NextG (although i think that's standard and not
provider or network dependent). I got it off the web somewhere, when i
did it. I'm sure i documented it somewhere, but i can't find it now!

N.B. An added complication is that I have to prepare, configure, etc.
this stuff at home in The Netherlands, *without* the phone, NextG
network, etc., because I can only buy the phone on arrival in Oz. And
once I am in Oz, I have no (other) Internet access, so I can't lookup
things on the web before the mobile Internet connection works, Catch-22.


Lots of libaries have internet access and there are internet places in
all major towns.
  #16  
Old October 4th, 2008, 09:58 PM posted to aus.comms.mobile,rec.travel.australia+nz,aus.computers.linux
Will Kemp
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6
Default (Telstra) Wireless Broadband USB Modem under Linux?

Frank Slootweg wrote:

N.B. An added complication is that I have to prepare, configure, etc.
this stuff at home in The Netherlands, *without* the phone, NextG
network, etc., because I can only buy the phone on arrival in Oz. And
once I am in Oz, I have no (other) Internet access, so I can't lookup
things on the web before the mobile Internet connection works, Catch-22.


Has your current phone got bluetooth? If not, can you borrow a bluetooth
phone? If so, you can try getting it to work using that phone. Even
without 3G connection, the principle's the same for GPRS. The dial
string might be different with Telstra's network, but at least you'll be
able to find out if you can get it to work.
  #17  
Old October 5th, 2008, 01:33 AM posted to aus.comms.mobile,rec.travel.australia+nz
Gerrit
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 89
Default (Telstra) Wireless Broadband USB Modem under Linux?


"Frank Slootweg" wrote in message
b.home.nl...

Thanks for your concern/warning.

I understand - also from looking at (Telstra's) coverage charts - that
3G/NextG/UMTS/whatever coverage in rural/outback areas is much, much
better than GSM coverage. GSM (i.e. GPRS) coverage would indeed be
rather useless.

We will be going basically 'everywhere', especially unsealed roads/
tracks in rural/outback areas in (SA,) NSW, QLD, NT and WA.

We have no real 'need' to be connected, but I'd like to try what's
it's like to have a laptop/mini-notebook with us. I always stayed
cleared from much technology on our trips, only GPS, EPIRB and GSM
mobile. But with these sexy mini-notebooks, I could no longer control
myself. I'm only human, you know! :-)

Frank


Let us know how you went after you return to the Netherlands.
I have been thinking about one of them too, but then one with a hard drive
so that I can take photos to my heart's content.

OR - Maybe you can write a travelogue as you go, and post the instalments
here, to prove it works! :-)

Gerrit


  #18  
Old October 5th, 2008, 01:37 AM posted to aus.comms.mobile,rec.travel.australia+nz
Gerrit
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 89
Default (Telstra) Wireless Broadband USB Modem under Linux?


"Gerrit" wrote in message
...

"Frank Slootweg" wrote in message
b.home.nl...

Thanks for your concern/warning.

I understand - also from looking at (Telstra's) coverage charts - that
3G/NextG/UMTS/whatever coverage in rural/outback areas is much, much
better than GSM coverage. GSM (i.e. GPRS) coverage would indeed be
rather useless.

We will be going basically 'everywhere', especially unsealed roads/
tracks in rural/outback areas in (SA,) NSW, QLD, NT and WA.

We have no real 'need' to be connected, but I'd like to try what's
it's like to have a laptop/mini-notebook with us. I always stayed
cleared from much technology on our trips, only GPS, EPIRB and GSM
mobile. But with these sexy mini-notebooks, I could no longer control
myself. I'm only human, you know! :-)

Frank


Let us know how you went after you return to the Netherlands.
I have been thinking about one of them too, but then one with a hard drive
so that I can take photos to my heart's content.

OR - Maybe you can write a travelogue as you go, and post the instalments
here, to prove it works! :-)

Gerrit


OH and BTW I saw a "news" item the other day where a young bloke had used
his mobile as a modem. In two months his bill had risen to some $40,000.
Better check the fine print.


  #19  
Old October 5th, 2008, 07:18 AM posted to aus.comms.mobile,rec.travel.australia+nz
Will Kemp
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6
Default (Telstra) Wireless Broadband USB Modem under Linux?

Gerrit wrote:
"Gerrit" wrote in message
...
"Frank Slootweg" wrote in message
b.home.nl...
Thanks for your concern/warning.

I understand - also from looking at (Telstra's) coverage charts - that
3G/NextG/UMTS/whatever coverage in rural/outback areas is much, much
better than GSM coverage. GSM (i.e. GPRS) coverage would indeed be
rather useless.

We will be going basically 'everywhere', especially unsealed roads/
tracks in rural/outback areas in (SA,) NSW, QLD, NT and WA.

We have no real 'need' to be connected, but I'd like to try what's
it's like to have a laptop/mini-notebook with us. I always stayed
cleared from much technology on our trips, only GPS, EPIRB and GSM
mobile. But with these sexy mini-notebooks, I could no longer control
myself. I'm only human, you know! :-)

Frank

Let us know how you went after you return to the Netherlands.
I have been thinking about one of them too, but then one with a hard drive
so that I can take photos to my heart's content.

OR - Maybe you can write a travelogue as you go, and post the instalments
here, to prove it works! :-)

Gerrit


OH and BTW I saw a "news" item the other day where a young bloke had used
his mobile as a modem. In two months his bill had risen to some $40,000.
Better check the fine print.


From posts on this newsgroup, i believe Telstra do a "bolt on" 5GB data
pack for $89 per month. Whatever your data allowance, you really don't
want to go over it - cos Telstra charge somewhere in the region of a
million dollars a gigabyte if you do!

A slight exaggeration, maybe, but it's in the thousands, i believe! I
certainly ended up paying $40 for a very short session, with no
"downloads" as such, last time i connected to the net via NextG - that
was over a year ago now, and i believe they halved the cost since then,
but it's still extortionate.
  #20  
Old October 5th, 2008, 09:35 AM posted to aus.comms.mobile,rec.travel.australia+nz
Frank Slootweg
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 275
Default (Telstra) Wireless Broadband USB Modem under Linux?

Gerrit wrote:

"Gerrit" wrote in message
...

"Frank Slootweg" wrote in message
b.home.nl...

Thanks for your concern/warning.

I understand - also from looking at (Telstra's) coverage charts - that
3G/NextG/UMTS/whatever coverage in rural/outback areas is much, much
better than GSM coverage. GSM (i.e. GPRS) coverage would indeed be
rather useless.

We will be going basically 'everywhere', especially unsealed roads/
tracks in rural/outback areas in (SA,) NSW, QLD, NT and WA.

We have no real 'need' to be connected, but I'd like to try what's
it's like to have a laptop/mini-notebook with us. I always stayed
cleared from much technology on our trips, only GPS, EPIRB and GSM
mobile. But with these sexy mini-notebooks, I could no longer control
myself. I'm only human, you know! :-)

Frank


Let us know how you went after you return to the Netherlands.
I have been thinking about one of them too, but then one with a hard drive
so that I can take photos to my heart's content.


If you're not a gravel road addict like me, a hard drive is probably
wise. However if the storage is only for photos, you might want to buy a
seperate 2.5 inch 'travel' drive, because the drive consumes a lot of
power, so short battery life. As to battery, there will be a bigger
battery for the Acer Aspire One, so try to get that.

If you get an internal hard drive, then get the (MS-)Windows version,
normally XP. (Hopefully the aus.computers.linux group isn't watching!)
While, as is shown in this thread, things can probably be made to work
on Linux, it's most of the time anything but straight-forward, while
most consumer products have Windows support in and out-of the box. Some,
like the Telstra NextG USB Modem even have Windows (and Mac) software
*in* the device, i.e. like a memory stick.

BTW, there should also be a 3[.5]G version of the Acer Aspire One in
the future. The general spec sheet already mentions the specs, and for a
layman like me, it looks like it will do everything, i.e. all the
frequencies, both for GSM and UMTS [1]:

Acer

WWAN: UMTS/HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) at 850/1900/2100 MHz and
quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), upgradeable to 7.2 Mb/s
HSDPA and 2 Mb/s HSUPA (for 3G models)
Supports receiver diversity and equalizes at 2100 MHz

/Acer

OR - Maybe you can write a travelogue as you go, and post the instalments
here, to prove it works! :-)


Nah, I'm planning use the computer as little as possible, I'd rather
watch the scenery! :-) It's main 'use' will be to use the web to find
out travel information as we go along. Of course we will also prepare at
home, but it's impossible to do/know everything in advance.

OH and BTW I saw a "news" item the other day where a young bloke had used
his mobile as a modem. In two months his bill had risen to some $40,000.
Better check the fine print.


In our newspaper it was Euro 40,000, about 1.7 times as much. So it
looks like a little bit of urban legend with 40,000 in any currency.
There must be *some* currency where 40,000 isn't too much! :-)

But seriously, mobile Internet, especially web, can indeed be very,
very expensive. Because I can't have a three-month contract anyway, and
probably can not have any contract, being one of them furinners, I'll
have to go pre-paid anyway, so unless I'm totally stupid ("Shut up,
Tineke!" :-)), I can't lose that much money.

[1]
http://www.acer.nl/public/page9.do?sp=page4&dau34.oid=40808&UserCtxParam=0&G roupCtxParam=0&dctx1=3&CountryISOCtxParam=NL&Langu ageISOCtxParam=nl&ctx3=-1&ctx4=Nederland&crc=1127473288
 




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