It’s very nice to have internet-everywhere via the internal UMTS G3.5 modem, and this is very easy to accomplish with (Debian) Linux.

I’ve written a small HowTo that describes the necessary steps.

Introduction

As I’ve already described in other blog articles, the Asus EeePC 901 Go is a great piece of hardware, fast and reliable with encrypted disks, and for me the perfect travel companion. Since I own this Netbook, I virtually never carry my old, big Notebook with me when I visit my customers.

Of course I’ve installed Debian Linux (Lenny) on the EeePC, so that I have my familiar desktop environment on the Netbook.

	BASE offers an UMTS flatrate for 17.50€
	Simyo offers a prepaid UMTS solution, 24ct/MB or 10€ for 1GB

HowTo configure UMTS via the internal UMTS modem

First of all, remove the battery of the Asus EeePC 901 Go and insert the SIM card of your provider into the  SIM slot. Reconnect the battery and startup your Debian system…

Activating the internal UMTS modem is pretty simple:

(You can skip the first steps if you want, they are just to make sure that the drivers are loaded correctly.)

• Make sure the correct kernel driver is loaded:
  • Open a terminal and enter the command:
  • dmesg | grep HUAWEI
  • The output should look like this:
  • [    5.426460] usb 5-6: Manufacturer: HUAWEI Technology
    [    5.417153] usb 5-6: Product: HUAWEI Mobile
• If that works, check if the USB modem is correctly bound:
  • dmesg | grep GSM
  • The output should look like this:
  • [   12.478987] usbserial: USB Serial support registered for GSM modem (1-port)
    [   12.487549] option 5-6:1.0: GSM modem (1-port) converter detected
    [   12.496203] usb 5-6: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB0
    [   12.504920] option 5-6:1.1: GSM modem (1-port) converter detected
    [   12.513610] usb 5-6: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB1
    [   12.525525] option 5-6:1.2: GSM modem (1-port) converter detected
    [   12.534178] usb 5-6: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB2
    [   12.551416] option: USB Driver for GSM modems: v0.7.2
• You can see that the UMTS modem can be accessed via ttyUSB0..2
• Install Gnome-PPP:
  • aptitude install gnome-ppp
• Now, you need to configure Gnome-PPP to access the internet via UMTS:
• Start Gnome-PPP via the menu (Applications / Internet / Gnome-PPP)
• The main window should appear. Most providers do not need any special username/password because the authentication is done via your GSM card:
  • Username: umts (does not matter)
  • Password: umts (does not matter)
  • Phone number: *99**1# (this is important)
• Press “Setup”
• Tab “Modem”:
  • Device: /dev/ttyUSB0
  • Type: USM Modem
  • Speed: 460800
  • Phone Line: Tone
  • Check “Wait for dialtone”
• Click on “Init Strings”:
  • Init 2: AT&F (Reset to defaults)
  • Init 3: AT+CSQ (Show link quality)
  • Init 4: AT+CGDCONT=1,”IP”,”internet.eplus.de”
    (this is the APN AccessPoint)
  • This APN (internet.eplus.de) is correct for
    BASE and Simyo. If you are using another provider, ask him about the correct APN.
  • Close the “Init Strings” window
• Tab “Networking”:
  • Check “Dynamic IP address”
  • Check “Automatic DNS”
• Tab “Options”:
  • Check “Minimize”
  • Check “Dock in notification area”
  • Check “Auto reconnect”
  • Select “Check carrier line”
  • Select “Check default route”
  • Check “Ignore terminal strings (stupid mode)”
• That’s it!
• Close the “Setup” window and click on “Connect”.

Congratulations, you should now have a working internal UMTS connection!

So, I bought an Indian prepaid SIM card (I’ve choosen Airtel). That was the easy part. With this SIM card I can make calls to Germany for a few rupies (around 10 Rupies=0.15€ per minute).

But getting the GPRS internet access working was a bit more complicated. Airtel SIM cards do not have GPRS activated out-of-the-box.

I searched the web and found many different opinions, how to get this work. But, in fact, none of them worked for me. The guys at the airtel shop also told me something different, also the guys at the Airtel customer care hotline (call 121 to reach them, but be prepared that their English is – uhm – different).

Finally, I found a very easy solution solution. It works great for me is is pretty cheap. They will charge 0.3 Rupies per 50kB without any additional fees. So, one Megabyte will cost 6 Rupies or ~0.10€. That’s ok for me.

Here’s what you need to do to activate GPRS on your Airtel SIM card:

• Dial *567#
• You will receive a message with GPRS options (“1” to activate GPRS, “2” to deactivate)
• Answer to the message with “1” (without the quotes)
• You will receive a message with possible GPRS tariffs (for me, there was only one tariff available: “1” 0.3 Rupies for 50kB)
• Answer to the message with “1” (without the quotes)
• That’s it, you will receive a confirmation message and the GPRS settings for your phone in the next few minutes
• On the laptop, create a dialup connection that uses your mobile phone as modem (via cable, IrDA or Bluetooth) and use “*99***1#” (without the quotes) as phone number, and a any text as username and passwort

As you see, it’s really easy if you know what to do.

For your information, the GPRS access point (AP) for Airtel is “airtelgprs.com“, but normally, you don’t need it, because they will send you the settings for your cell phone by SMS.

PS: I can recommend Airtel for India, they have a good network coverage, even in rural areas, you can recharge your phone on every second corner and the tariffs are pretty cheap.

	BASE offers an UMTS flatrate for 17.50€
	Simyo offers a prepaid UMTS solution, 24ct/MB or 10€ for 1GB