Hujambo!

I’ve written a few times about using GPRS with Linux in Kenya. First I was using Safaricom’s “Bambanet” USB device, which was merely a re-branded Huawei e220. A few months after that I sold the Bambanet and was using a Nokia 2630 over Bluetooth wireless. Last month I upgraded to a Nokia 5130 XpressMusic, and then sold it and upgraded to a Nokia 5320 XpressMusic (the 5320 runs Symbian S60, which is way more advanced than the S40 on either of my previous Nokias). The procedure is the same for all Nokia phones when using Bluetooth, but when using the USB cable there are a few show stoppers.
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Telecommunications companies in Kenya are extremely profitable. Just the other day Safaricom announced record profits for the past year, making it the most profitable company in all of East AND Central Africa. As astonishing as the announcement is, I’m not surprised (I come from the United States, where many corporations are among the largest “economies” in the world). The part that really gets me is the ridiculous marketing slogans these companies choose to brainwash the masses into buying their crap. While Safaricom is the “big man on campus,” Celtel is also very popular in Kenya (and equally ridiculous).
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I live next to nowhere in Kenya, so Internet access is pretty limited. I am able to access it at work, but it’s slow and only available during the day. Luckily Safaricom, one of the local cell phone companies, just rolled out 3G technology across Kenya. My cell phone isn’t very fancy so I picked up the USB modem instead. When the Safaricom employee asked if I had brought my laptop for them to configure I replied, “Um… no. I’ll do it myself…” So this is the culmination of my ensuing research.

Using a Huawei e220 With Safaricom Under Linux

The Huawei e220 is a USB HSDPA modem capable of some crazy speeds like 7.2 megabits per second, though Safaricom advertises the max on its network as being around 3.6. If you look around on the internet you’ll find a dearth of information about using the Huawei e220 under Linux, as lots of mobile phone companies all over the world have been providing these units for a few years. The software required to use these under Linux has changed a lot of the years, and it’s actually pretty easy to get working once you piece together the information from several blogs, forums, and man pages. If you also live in Kenya, use Linux, and have one of these modems, keep reading.
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