kdenetworkmanager replacement?

[stan]

I just installed Kubuntu on my new laptop. the KDE network manager does
exactly what I want for a laptop, but it only does it once I login to the
desktop. Since I sometimes just pop into a console window quickly, I don;t
have networking at this point in time.

Is there a replacement for the KDE network manager that does not depend on
being loged in to setup the network(s)?

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