[H-GEN] Wireless broadband issues.

[Carl Adams]

I'd been using Vodafone's USB wireless broadband service for about six  
months with increasingly poor service until it finally quit altogether a  
couple of weeks ago. Each morning I'd wait for the modem to connect, make  
a record of the host and nameserver IPs, ping the servers, and then ping  
two other machines whose IPs I know, one in Oz and one in Singapore. When  
service had not been restored after a week, I wrote a letter to Vodafone  
and took a copy down to their CBD office, where I was told that Vodafone  
does not accept correspondence from customers. This prompted a second  
letter, along with one to the TIO. By calling the company a criminal  
organization in writing, I placed myself in legal jeopardy. A week later a  
studiously polite female phoned and enquired how much refund I wanted. I  
have just banked a cheque for the full purchase price of the modem, AND of  
the voucher - not pro rata.

The letters are available online (technical listings omitted) at:

http://52midnight.com/vodafone/

I am now using Optus. Had the usual hassles requiring a twenty-minute call  
 from a lass in the Philippines to correct a parameter that was not given  
in what passes for documentation these days, but could not determine my  
usage, since this is now sent by SMS, to which end Optus supplies a piece  
of software in the modem itself called the "Dashboard" that performs this  
function - Windows and Apple only, of course. The former quick and easy  
CGI page obviously wasn't contributing sufficiently to the company's  
bottom line, and a fee a la the banks can now be charged for SMS advice. I  
emailed Optus and was informed:

1. Optus does not support plugging the modem into a router (TL-MR3420 in  
my case) "for sharing the connection", but only directly into a computer.  
So now the TNCs are telling how and how we may not use our own equipment.

2. That Optus does not support Linux. Until then I had deliberately  
avoided disclosing this, knowing full well the consequences, and purchased  
the router specifically to isolate the modem from the OS, which is does  
effectively and reliably.

3. Optus only supports Windows 7, Vista, and XP, as well as Mac OS X -  
Tiger and Mac OS X - 10.5 Leopard. All of which just happen to be  
proprietary systems. No surprize.

I don't want to open a discussion on the evils of the TNCs and the Oz  
telcos - they're too well known - but I'm concerned that they may  
eventually succeed in forcing Linux desktops off the Net entirely; without  
doubt this is their intention. Does anyone know if the Linux community is  
addressing this issue? I doubt that anything is being done in Oz, but  
there may be action being taken elsewhere, as with Linux in education in  
the UK.