Re: [tlug] How to use eMobile Huawei USB dongles (with Asashi net)

[Ian Barwick <barwick@example.com>]

2009/7/10 John Fremlin <john@example.com>:
> Ian Barwick wrote:
>>
>> * The contract period is 12 months, right?
>> (according to the pricing details as
>> https://asahi-net.jp/service/mobile/shin_chouwari_service.html ;
>> there's no info on the English pages at all as far as I can see).
>
> I'm not sure where the info was but as I recall Bruce explained that one can
> terminate the contract without penalty with a month's notice (you have to
> return the dongle). The signup is all in English if you can find out the
> webpage (sort of hidden on the Asahi net site as I remember) -- you have to
> fax the signup form.
>
>> * Within Tokyo, how is service in general? E.g. if I plonk myself in a
>> random Starbucks,
>> McDonalds etc. am I likely to be able to get a decent connection?
>
> Yes.
>
>> * How well does it work inside buildings?
>
> Generally fine -- it's like a 3G mobile phone connexion.
>
>> * What kind of speed do you get? I am basically looking for "fast
>> enough for basic web
>> surfing" and "stable enough for SSH sessions", with the option of
>> downloading the odd
>> couple of dozen megabytes of source files should I need them.
>
> About 200kB/s (2-3MBps) down is regular can generally be counted on --
> sometimes I get more. The main issue is that 3G has a terrible latency of a
> few hundred(?) milliseconds.
>
> The stability is not super great, maybe the connexion drops once or twice a
> day, but for interactive ssh it's fine.
>
> The best part is that you can use it on the train on the go (provided you
> are not going through a tunnel or underground of course).

Thanks once again for this info and especially the wvdial
configuration in the first
mail of this thread; I am now in possession of the USB dongle in question
and it works fine (Xubuntu 8.10 on an HP2133 subnotebook). The Emobile
connection is much better than I expected and so far I haven't had any problems
dialing in at various locations in central Tokyo.


Regards

Ian Barwick