connecting laptop to the internet via GSM phone network (no Wi-Fi)
John Goche
Hello,
Some people I know have told me that it is possible to
get something like a PCMCIA card for a laptop or perhaps
a USB cable or something which can be used to connect
to a mobile phone and use the mobile phone's GSM network
to connect to the internet in places where Wi-Fi is not available.
Anyone heared of this? Exactly what hardware
do I need to achieve this setup and where do I
get it from? Can I get any such hardware that
is compatible with Linux? I would definitely
prefer it to be as I plan to use Linux frequently.
Thanks,
John Goche
Henrik Carlqvist
> Anyone heared of this?
Yep :-) http://poolhem.se/E220/
> Exactly what hardware do I need to achieve this setup and where do I
> get it from?
You need some kind of GSM modem. Some newer highend laptops even have GSM
modems built in. I don't know if it is still possible to buy the Huewei
E220 I have, but check which alternatives you have and do a google on
"Linux <modem model>" befor you buy. At least here in Sweden most mobile
ISPs almost give GSM modems away when signing up for a contract.
> Can I get any such hardware that is compatible with Linux? I would definitely
> prefer it to be as I plan to use Linux frequently.
Check with google before you buy. It is a lot easier to buy hardware
compatible with Linux than trying to get hardware with bad support to work.
regards Henrik
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John Goche
wrote:
> John Goche <johngoch...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> > Anyone heared of this?
>
> Yep :-)http://poolhem.se/E220/
Interesting. However what I did not find is what kind of speed can be
achieved with such type of connection when surfing the internet or
transferring files for instance?
> > Exactly what hardware do I need to achieve this setup and where do I
> > get it from?
>
> You need some kind of GSM modem. Some newer highend laptops even have GSM
> modems built in.
Such as. I have what I thought would have been a relatively high end
laptop (a sony
vaio) which I must say has a very nice screen and BD drive but lacks
the feature you
mention. Could you please point me to the website for such a laptop so
I can at least
check it out?
> I don't know if it is still possible to buy the Huewei
> E220 I have, but check which alternatives you have and do a google on
> "Linux <modem model>" befor you buy. At least here in Sweden most mobile
> ISPs almost give GSM modems away when signing up for a contract.
I have done a search on amazon for GSM modems. I got just a few
results
but not much. Apparently you just insert the SIM card from your mobile
phone
and connect the device to one of the USB ports on the laptop or
desktop.
BTW, does anyone know whether all service providers in the UK use GSM.
AFAIK GSM is the main phone network protocol used throughout Europe
as opposed to CDMA or TDMA in the US. Anyone know where I can find
such information. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some
differences
from one provider to another in terms of protocol used here in the UK
as well.
Also, seems like one could save on having to use a broadband DSL or
cable modem connection at home by just paying for an unlimited Wi-Fi
data plan on their cell phone and exploiting it. So in the end is such
setup with a GSM modem cheaper after all or are there disadvantages
to such a setup?
Finally, where can I find a compatibility list for GSM modems that
work with Linux?
Thanks,
John Goche
Wolfgang Draxinger
> Interesting. However what I did not find is what kind of speed can be
> achieved with such type of connection when surfing the internet or
> transferring files for instance?
Depends on your cellular provider. With the most recent version of UMTS/3G
it's possible to get 7.2MBit/s downstream.
> BTW, does anyone know whether all service providers in the UK use GSM.
> AFAIK GSM is the main phone network protocol used throughout Europe
> as opposed to CDMA or TDMA in the US.
UMTS is used in Europe and US, however in different frequency bands. However
most UMTS adapters can deal with all bands used in the world.
However I'm still puzzled, why you didn't took a look on the homepages of
cellular providers in the UK. There you would find information about
hardware and price plans.
E.g. Vodafone UK:
http://online.vodafone.co.uk/dispatch/Portal/appmanager/vodafone/wrp?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=template08&pageID=BS_0201
> Finally, where can I find a compatibility list for GSM modems that
> work with Linux?
I don't know of such a list, but AFAIK _all_ cellular modems use the USB
CDC-ACM profile, which essentially emulates a plain serial connection. This
is perfectly supported by Linux.
For your further steps don't look for GSM but GRPS instead.
Wolfgang
Henrik Carlqvist
> On Nov 24, 7:36ï¿œpm, Henrik Carlqvist <Henrik.Carlqv...@deadspam.com>
>> Some newer highend laptops even have GSM modems built in.
> Could you please point me to the website for such a laptop so
> I can at least check it out?
It is for instance possible to get a Lenovo X300 with a SIM slot for the
built in GSM modem:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/laptops/review/2008/04/22/Lenovo-ThinkPad-X300/p5