Cellular modem/router how to
 

I'm thinking of using a cellular modem/router Internet connection and I can't find a guide or tutorial on the subject. Will a driver be needed,etcetera. Any help is appreciated?

Thanks for your expertise!

Why not use the wifi hotspot available in most phones? If you're going cellular, there's a sim in there, so I'm presuming a phone is lurking somewhere.

I'm trying to setup the least expensive internet connection that fills my needs. Where I live you can get;

TimeWarner/Spectrum
Frontier
HugesCo

Or for 1/2 to 1/3rd of the monthly costs ,a cellular modem (stand alone ,separate from a voice service).

I found a few links, http://tuxmobil.org/phones_linux.html


and https://ernstagn.home.xs4all.nl/GPRS...S-HOWTO-2.html

but they are on the terse side.

If this cellular modem picks up the cellular signal, that's fine, and no driver needed I expect.

It will output wifi or Ethernet (RJ45 socket) or both, and you will need to connect to one of those obviously.

I guess I need to know more about SIM cards, They allow the Modem access with the Cell Tower?Do unlocked ones need a SIM card or is the actual SIM card unlocked?

So I need to configure PPPD or WVDial to run a script that will make the Modem work and the maker of the Modem has to supply this?

I'm a bit tentative here, as the US situation may be quite different to the UK, but if you can get a phone company that supplies a "usb dongle", that can be set up like this
http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2014/02/...d-modem-linux/
The example software is Ubuntu, but the principle is the same. Note that the device should have it's own configuration script.

As for the stand-alone device, I assume that it works like any modem. The internet connection is obviously wireless rather than land-line, but the computer connection will have to be the same: wifi or ethernet.

WvDial shouldn't be involved. That's for making an internet connection over a phone system, but the firmware in the modem/dongle does that.

Many cell phone providers have LTE MODEMS or you can get something like in the link. They typically use a micro sim card to access the network just like a regular cell phone. As far as I know they work like any other router on the LAN side and therefore no driver is required.

https://www.netgear.com/home/product...ms/LB1120.aspx

If you want to use a USB LTE MODEM then you probably need a driver and that would use wvdial/pppd to connect.

In a nutshell a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card contains all the information like account number, phone number etc necessary for that device to connect to a GSM cell phone network.

Thanks for the assistance every one! I looked into the manual for the LB1120 and I don't see anything that is O.S specific in it. https://www.netgear.com/images/pdf/L...ser-Manual.pdf

theKbStockpiler, please go back to post #2 which includes all the info you need.
i think you're overthinking this...

You will have to describe the actual physical connection.

If you have a wifi modem and you want to connect it to a PC via usb then it should be just plug and play on most modern distros. This assumes your phone can tether or your wifi modem can tether.

If you wish to buy a dedicated 4G LTE router with sim they are still kind of expensive. Some cheapo 3G usb's are on the web for some older frequencies. However there are many home routers with usb that can attach to a usb modem/cellphone.

I connect to the Internet at home with a 4G cellular modem. I bought it for $20 on eBay; it's worked for more than 2 years, no problem. It didn't require any special software. Linux recognized it as eth1 (the computer has an Ethernet connection built in). I configure it with a browser at 192.168.0.1. Check out basicaccess.com. They're cheap, and they don't know what they're doing, but if you can make them work for you it could be your best deal. I've switched to T-Mobile.

Is this the brilliant post #2 to which you are referring ?

There are a number of reasons why someone wouldn't want to use a phone this way full time. You just haven't thought them through before making your response ondoho.

First this is known to wear phones out as it uses a lot of power to operate a wifi hotspot and simultaneously provide cellular data. The phone would have to be constantly charging and possibly overheating. My Samsung Galaxy has this wifi hotspot feature but the manual recommends using a USB tether to a computer instead to provide a data connection due to power considerations. The wifi hotspot is for more temporary use.

Second the data plan for a cellular modem could be different than their regular cell plan. They would need to buy much more data for their phone if they were using it for home internet.

Third they may want someone else to be able to use their computer while they are away with their phone with them.

I had a look at the manual for the LB1120 KbStockpiler and it only has RJ45 Ethernet.

You didn't mention if you have a desktop or a laptop in your original post.

If you have a desktop you will connect it directly to your Ethernet port (unless you want to use a switch) and likely use standard ethernet protocols to transfer data. This is what I use for communicating with my DSL modem.

If you have a laptop you will likely want to use a Wifi router to connect to the modem. The modem has a bridge mode to connect to Wifi routers.

In both cases you don't need any driver for the modem itself, just the normal ethernet and wireless drivers that are part of Linux. You would configure the modem through its web page.

Gee, the LB1120 looks like a pretty easy 4G solution. Seems to support T-mobile bands and the newer 12.

Should be just read manual. Install sim. Hopefully you won't have to do much but wireless company will most likely send you to a portal so you may have to fool with that.


Otherwise it should work. I'd be interested to know how well it works too. I have been using a more complex way to use a hotspot.

I usually only use about 1/2 a gig a month of data. If I need to increase this I could always cut down on trivial use.

FreedomPop has a deal where you buy a used Dedicated Hotspot for $20 and get a month of premium service for the first month. Their site is confusing but it looks like if you buy the used Hotspot the deal is;

-500mb with no fee
- A gig for like $6 or something and on up for more data.

If you just want the SIM card it starts at $14 for a gig and $20 for 2 gigs if I remember correctly.

I have the 1120 Modem ordered from Amazon and it is taking a while to get it transferred to a shipper but FreedomPop got me the SIM card in about 4 days from Cali.

I'll post back on how it worked out.

I'm not into wireless unless it is the only possibility because of Electomagnetic waves. I'm going to use an antenna on the outside of the house with a shield behind it.