[ubuntu-uk] Dialup from Ubuntu

[David King]

I recently had a problem with my broadband connection, it just stopped 
working one night. Works okay again now though.

But it meant that I had to try dialup for the first time in years. I 
still have an external serial modem (Zoom V.92) which I connected, but I 
could not get connected to the Internet with it. I had great difficulty 
in finding any kind of installed software in Ubuntu that would allow me 
to dial up any ISP through the modem. It was very easy in Windows, but 
why is it that a default Ubuntu installation contains no easy way of 
using dialup? I have since downloaded GnomePPP which is what I was 
looking for, something very much like the dialup program in the old 
Windows that I was used to.

It is great for broadband users to install Ubuntu and then just get 
online and get updates, etc., but when broadband is broken, there is no 
easy way to get connected. And without the internet connection, no way 
to search online for an answer.

Ubuntu needs to have GnomePPP installed by default.


I did find a CLI program called wvdial that was installed, and I set a 
phone number for an ISP and username and password, into the conf file 
for it. But the number was old and no longer in use, so it would not 
connect. Then I found some info that should work, put that into the conf 
file, but after dialling that from wvdial, it just disconnected and then 
tried to redial using the original number that I put in but had deleted. 
So why did it remember the old number that was removed?

I also put the dial up details into the Network Connections dialog (by 
clicking on the network icon near the clock) and entering dialup details 
in there, but from that dialog there is no button to click to actually 
dial. However, I noticed that a few minutes later Ubuntu was dialling 
something without displaying any kind of status as to what it was doing. 
It did this, then disconnected, and again later, seemingly at random. I 
did check the phone when it had dialled out, and heard the usual modem 
data sounds, so it was connecting to the ISP, but not staying connected.

Even though most people now use broadband, Canonical really need to 
include proper dial up software in Ubuntu for those without broadband, 
and for those whose broadband temporarily goes offline.

Up until this incident I thought that Ubuntu was pretty much the ideal 
OS to install from the CD, but it seems that once installed, if you have 
no broadband, getting online is nearly impossible. Canonical need to fix 
this asap, if they have not done so already. I am using Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, 
and being an LTS edition, it should have the dialup software like 
GnomePPP preinstalled. Maybe it has been fixed in 8.10, but the LTS 
users must be catered for too.




David King