I have a BT Voyager 105 usb adsl modem with the eciadsl driver and it has pretty much worked ok-ish on many linux distros, albeit a bit unreliable and frustrating.
Well the other day it suddenly stopped working on all my distros on the same day.
No particular error, I get a modem hangup error and it just fails to connect.
I thought it might be the modem that had died but I went to the trouble of installing windows to try it there and it works fine, no problem at all.
I couldn't figure out why it had suddenly stopped working 4 linux distros all at the same time so I decided I was sick of it and went out to try and get another modem.
After searching round many computer shops all day I only managed to find one that sold a usb adsl modem so I bought it and rushed home. Lo and behold, turns out this modem doesn't work on linux either (Mentor usb adsl modem with conexant chipset).
So, according to my computer shop, it seems the only way to get the internet working on linux properly is to buy a modem router and network card or ethernet card or something and I know nothing about routers, network cards, ethernet or anything like that and since they said it's going to cost about 65-75 pounds to get the stuff I need that's putting me off since the money could buy stuff I need for my baby.

Does anyone else use a BT Voyager 105 and know why it would suddenly stop working on linux or know how to get that Mentor/conexant modem working?

i really wouldn't recommend those crappy usb modems, a proper adsl router (e.g. voyager 210) only costs about £20 on ebay, and a nic is a fiver... with one of those guys, it's just so so much simpler. just plug in and go.