I was thinking that it might be neat to have mobile internet and Movistar had what seemed to be some various decent offers; especially compared to what I had seen from Verizon (not that Verzion was an option since they don't have service here).I narrowed it down to two choices, 1 megabit download with a 10 GigaBYTE monthly limit (and charges for each MB in excess). That was about US$23/month. In contrast Verizon offered a 5 GigaBYTE limit (after which you got your service canceled). Movistar also had a 384K download with unlimited traffic for about US$2/month more. Both had 128K upload and a 2 year contract.
Their website (I thought) had pretty good information (although in Flash?!?!). It listed 4 adapters that were available:
- USB: GlobeSurfer icon 7.2
- USB: Bandluxe C100
- PCMCIA: Blogtrotter Express 7.2
- PCMCIA: GT Max 7.2
I researched the USB adapters and it seemed like the GlobeSurfer icon 7.2 might work with FreeBSD.
This morning I thought it was worth a try and stopped by the Movistar office. I was assured I could change the contact to a different speed if I wanted and I could return it within 30 days (but would have to pay the service fee for the first month).
Unfortnately, they didn't have the GlobeSurfer icon 7.2, instead the HUAWEI E226. I figured what the heck I'd give it a try.
The HUAWEI E226 reboots FreeBSD a few moments after you plug it in. With lots of driver patches I can get FreeBSD to boot with it plugged in and of course it shows as a memory device and not a USB Modem.
I messed with it all day and that's enough as I can't find anyone using the E226 with FreeBSD and lots of people having grief with the E220.
The other big problem I see with the service is they offer no apparent means of tracking your usage, leading to the possible surprise of significant bill!
Tomorrow, I'll find out if the return process is as easy as it was to buy it!
