Wireless internet via the cell phone system (even on Linux)

Life Technology
1

Hi all,

I recently purchased a Huawei E169 USB device for accessing the internet through Chunghwa_Telecom’s cell phone service:

emome.net/channel?chid=114&pid=1632

Cost for the device (with a two-year contract) was NT$2990, plus NT$850/month for service (unlimited connect time). The connection speed is quite good.

Not surprisingly, Chunghwa_Telecom only knows about Windows. The device is alleged to work out of the box with Mac OSX too. But I use Linux, and of course nobody at Chunghwa_Telecom could tell me how to make the device work with it. However, I was given the phone number of an engineer at Huawei who was able to tell me what to do.

The secret is to use a Linux program called wvdial, which is installed in almost every version of Linux that exists. First, you need to modify the configuration file /etc/wvdial.conf to read as follows:

[Dialer Defaults]
Phone = *99#
APN = internet
Username = username
Password = password
Stupid Mode = 1
Dial Command = ATDT
Modem = /dev/ttyUSB0
Baud = 460800
#Init1 = AT+CPIN=0000 # 第一次撥的時候要用這一行, 往後就可以註解掉
Init2 = ATZ
Init3 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
ISDN = 0
Modem Type = Analog Modem

Once you’ve done that, you open a terminal window on your Linux desktop and type:

sudo wvdial

You’ll be prompted for your Linux user password. Once you’ve typed that and hit enter, the device will connect. That’s all there is to it.

best regards,
DB

2

Hey Dog’s_Breakfast,
Thanks very much for posting this. I’m sure a lot of Linux users will be grateful for the information (btw, I’ve changed your title a little to emphasise the Linux part).

Cheers,
Stu (Tech Mod)

3

The 850/mth is cheaper than my adsl broadband. As it’s 3G can it connect pretty much anywhere in-door and out-door? Any pros and cons…I’m interested…

4

I’d keep an eye out for actual speed stats. When I explored such options in the past, speed was the deal breaker.

5

Hey Mr Breakfast!

Can you run speedtest, choose the Taipei server and post the results.

speedtest.net/

I got 2.2Mbit down, 284Kbit up on my nominal 8Mbit down, 640K up ADSL connection at home. Would be insteresting to see how your modem compares.

6

[quote=“KingZog”]Hey Mr Breakfast!

Can you run speedtest, choose the Taipei server and post the results.

speedtest.net/

I got 2.2Mbit down, 284Kbit up on my nominal 8Mbit down, 640K up ADSL connection at home. Would be insteresting to see how your modem compares.[/quote]

First of all, thanks for letting me know about the SpeedTest web site.

My results:
download 2170 kb/s
upload 332 kb/s

I have to say though that I’ve noticed speed varies at different times of the day, with no rhyme or reason. But that was true with my ADSL line as well. For what it is worth, I am located in Taitung - not sure if that has anything to do with the speeds that I get, but I’ve heard others say that Taitung has crappy bandwidth (maybe that doesn’t apply to the cell phone system though).

As they say, your mileage may vary.

To answer HeadhonchoII’s question: so far, I’ve been using it exclusively indoors. I would expect that it might have trouble connecting in a basement. If you can’t get a cell phone signal, then you won’t be able to connect. Outdoors, I would expect the signal to be even better. I have not yet suffered any dropped connections. I don’t yet have any complaints about this device, though I confess that I’ve been using it less than a week.

One thing that could possibly concern me is if the device got damaged, I would have to send it back for repairs and would be without an Internet connection during that time. The warranty is two years, the same as the contract. Hopefully, turnaround time for a repair would not be long. You could always buy a second device for another NT$2990 and install the SIM card into it. Well actually, it would be more than NT$2990 because that’s the discounted price you get when you sign a contract - a spare device would undoubtedly cost more.

Note that Huawei makes another similar product, model E220:

hiconnect.hinet.net/_products.html

Chunghwa_Telecom will give you one for FREE with a two-year contract. However, I could not get it to work with Linux even though the Huawei engineer said it was possible. He sent me a driver for it, but the driver didn’t install and seemed to be only for a older version of Fedora. I would expect that it works in Windows though. I can’t tell you anything about its performance, since I couldn’t get it working with Linux and don’t even own a Windows computer. The young lady at the sales counter said that they don’t sell many of those any more and will phase them out, but at the moment they’re still available.

cheers,
DB

7

Any advice where I could get something like this when I land in Taipei? I do not have an ARC, so I am concerned about whether I can sign up for a 2-year contract. Can I use this on a Pre-paid basis?

I have been visiting Taipei pretty often this year, and when I am in town, I get stuck looking for a stable and open Internet connection. Plus, I use a eeePC 1000H running WinXP, which has a finickey WiFi antenna - when my wife are in Taipei and trying to connect from the same place at the same time, her ancient ThinkPad hooks up without a hitch, and my eeePC is hit-or-miss (often it’s a miss). What really annoys me is that the citywide WiFly network does NOT work for my eeePC :fume: - for her ThinkPad and my Nokia e71, WiFly works fine.

So I’m looking at something like this to help me stay connected. Any advice on where to get one of these?

8

[quote=“Goose Egg”]
Any advice where I could get something like this when I land in Taipei? I do not have an ARC, so I am concerned about whether I can sign up for a 2-year contract. Can I use this on a Pre-paid basis?[/quote]

How long are your stays going to be? Without an ARC I don’t believe you can sign up for it, and there’s really no prepaid counterpart. However, if your stays are short then you might be able to get by with signing up with Vibo Telecom’s prepaid service and tethering through their 3G internet if you have a compatible phone. The cost ranges from NTD$99/day to NTD$249 for 5 continuous days. You will need a 3G phone with voice though, even if you want to use it with one of those USB HSDPA sticks since you can ONLY order the internet feature through their automated voice system.

The speeds are not terribly impressive, but it may be due to location. At the airport I was able to get better speeds surfing on my phone than while I was in Taipei.

9

Any advice where I could get something like this when I land in Taipei? I do not have an ARC, so I am concerned about whether I can sign up for a 2-year contract. Can I use this on a Pre-paid basis?[/quote]
You can acquire a prepaid 3G sim with CHT without ARC (passport should do). However, you’ll need your own 3G device. (CHT will provide one only if you sign up for a 2-year contract) You can acquire unlocked 3G dongles on ebay I believe. If you go with VIBO, beware of the requirement to use their voice system to activate as catfish indicated.

If you are going to use a lot of data but only in periods of a few days at a time, then the VIBO prepaid system would be best. If you are going to use a lot of data and you anticipate being in tw for a month or more, you might want to consider asking a close relative or contact in tw to set up a CHT account on your behalf so you can use their 850 unlimited plan.

10

[quote=“KingZog”]Hey Mr Breakfast!

Can you run speedtest, choose the Taipei server and post the results.

speedtest.net/

I got 2.2Mbit down, 284Kbit up on my nominal 8Mbit down, 640K up ADSL connection at home. Would be insteresting to see how your modem compares.[/quote]

My home is the same line yet I get this in Alishan… with very long wires 8m 640k system

11

I’d keep an eye out for actual speed stats. When I explored such options in the past, speed was the deal breaker.[/quote]

I have a far eastern wireless roaming internet for NT$650 pm

Speeds are 2.30mb/s , upload o.o6mb/s, ping135ms just tested

12

Are any of these good enough for typical computers activity like surfing net, MSN, downloading files, etc. at the same time?

Why have ADSL limited to my house if I can have this with access anywhere in Taipei at least.