GPRS Internet with Linux
I actually came across the correct settings for Vodafone GPRS while trying to use my phone as a modem. I was away over Easter and had my laptop, but my only Internet connection was a vain hope there would be a public wireless connection around. There weren’t any, and surprisingly all the ones I did find were encryptyed.
It was annoying to see wireless connections around but not being able to connect. I figured if I couldn’t get a permanent solution like a 3G datacard or a monthly subscription to T-Mobile HotSpot, then I’d have to fall back to the old trusty dial up. There is a modem built into the Thinkpad T30, but I’ve never bothered to set it up. I figure if there is a phone line, there’s going to be some sort of broadband connection. The modem I wanted to use was in my phone, the main driver being I had a load of bundled minutes with it and what better way to use them than downloading email at 9.6kbps?
But before I could find out if I could even be old fashioned and dial up to Freeserve (or what ever they’re called now) I remembered about GPRS, which should give me a data rate of about 25-40kbps. I found some instructions how to use a Sony Ericsson phone as a GPRS modem in Linux. These particular instructions use Bluetooth, something my T30 doesn’t have, but you can connect using the supplied USB cable as well. After you plug in your phone load the following drivers:
- cdc_acm
- ppp
- ppp_deflate
- bsd_comp
The first driver should create a device at /dev/ttyACM0, the others are to allow you to dial up and use PPP. So ignore the first step in the instructions above (unless of course you’re using Bluetooth). Then in the first file change the device to /dev/ttyACM0, and make sure you have the correct user (’web’ for Vodafone). My copy of /etc/ppp/chat.gprs contains:
TIMEOUT 5 SAY "Internet via Vodafone GPRS" ABORT 'nBUSYr' ABORT 'nERRORr' ABORT 'nNO ANSWERr' ABORT 'nNO CARRIERr' ABORT 'nNO DIALTONEr' ABORT 'nRINGINGrnrRINGINGr' '' rAT TIMEOUT 12 OK ATE1 OK AT+cgdcont=1,"IP","internet" OK ATD*99***1# CONNECT ''
and finally in /etc/ppp/pap-secrets set the username and password to what ever your provider requires. Then you can connect with:
pppd chat gprs
and amazingly you’re connected to the Internet. Maybe I’m too cynical about technology these days, but I was amazed how easy this was to setup.
