VPTCL Wireless: Connect to internet using VPTCL from Ubuntu 10.04

PTCL DSL is great. Its cheap and offers good (reasonable) speed. But PTCL landlines are very untrustworthy and you never know when it will stop working. So I keep VPTCL as my backup internet connection. It is not fast but it works and has almost no down time. PTCL provides drivers and documentation for connecting to internet with VPTCL but everything is for Windows. So you are at loss if you are a Linux user. But dont worry, its really easy to connect VPTCL from linux especially Ubuntu. Basically the driver is there (usb-serial), so all you need is a dialer to connect to internet. Wvdial is a good tool for dialing different PPP connections. Earlier I have written about connecting to Windows VPN using it. To install Wvdial use the following command:

sudo apt-get install wvdial  

after the installation is complete, open file /etc/wvdial.conf and add following lines to its end:

[Dialer VPTCL]
Modem = /dev/ttyUSB0
Baud = 230400
Phone = #777
Init1 = ATZ
Stupid Mode = 1
Dial Command = ATDT
Username = vwireless@ptcl.com
Password = ptcl
PPPD Options = lock noauth refuse-eap refuse-chap refuse-mschap nobsdcomp nodeflate

Now save and close the file. You will need sudo rights for installing wvdial and editing the conf file.
Now from terminal issue the following command:

wvdial VPTCL 

Wvdial will connect to internet using VPTCL. You will get the connection information in the terminal after issuing this command i.e DNS servers and other stuff. Don't close the terminal as this will disconnect you from internet. Only close it when you want to disconnect. Pressing Ctrl-C in terminal will also end wvdial and disconnect you from internet.

Note: PTCL charges 2 rupees per 20 minutes for VPTCL internet service.