Verizon phone as cellular modem

In a week or two I will be traveling. There will probably be Verizon coverage but there won't be conventional internet access. So I picked up a USB data cable for my LG VX8300 and added Verizon's BroadbandAccess connectivity to my account for a month. I'm a big Linux snob, so I needed to dig around for relevant Linux info. I found everything I needed on KA9Q's web page on the subject.

On Fedora Core 5, I needed to set up three files:

• /etc/ppp/peers/1xevdo
• /etc/ppp/peers/1xevdo_chat
• /etc/ppp/pap-secrets
• /etc/resolv.conf # use known-good nameservers

and then run

pppd call 1xevdo

as root. Within a few seconds, you should see a valid IP address when you type

ifconfig ppp0

and you're online. It's the coolest thing. Considerably slower than the wireless service at Starbucks or Panera but it's a lot better than no connectivity at all.