[Gloucs] 3G USB modem

[Nick]

Quoth the David Johnson:
> On Monday 08 September 2008 18:59:42 Nick wrote:
> > I'm soon to be moving into a place that doesn't have a landline, so
> > I think I'll be getting a USB GPRS/3G modem (interestingly branded a
> > 'dongle'). I know the GSM signal where I'll be moving isn't great,
> > but is perfectly adequate to make a call (no dropping or crackling,
> > etc).
> 
> Presumably you already have a phone, so why not just use that? I have my 
> laptop set-up to use my phone to access the Internet over Bluetooth, which 
> not only means that I don't have to buy a separate dongle or card, but I can 
> also strategically place the phone to get the best signal without being tied 
> to the laptop :-)

I hadn't actually considered that. However presumably using a phone 
connection like that will essentially be charged per minute I'm 
connected, which really isn't something I want to go back to, 
particularly not with my current mobile phone rates.

> > Also do I need some sort of dialing software or similar? Is it the
> > same as with an old dial-up modem? I don't use gnome or kde, so
> > inbuilt solutions (such as network manager) are no use to me.
> > Terminal is king in my world, ideally.
> >
> 
> Yep, it's just like to bad old days of dial-up :-)
> Thinking back a good few years, I seem to remember that 'wvdial' is the 
> standard command-line dialer application.

Aah yes; I remember the good old days of wrestling with winmodems...

> > Should the connection be reasonably stable when the signal isn't
> > strong? I don't need speed, but stability is quite important.
> 
> Depends on a lot of things, so difficult to say. As long as you get a dongle 
> with a decent radio and have reasonable coverage  (i.e. you're not on the 
> edge of two cells) you should be OK.

Good to know, thanks.

-Nick

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