I’m using the UM175 model so your mileage may vary.

Note: Red Hat officially supports various DELL branded EVDO modems by default in 5.x (see release notes)

Insert the UM175 and make sure the system detects it.

Example:
shell>dmesg
usb 5-1: USB disconnect, address 3
usb 5-1: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 4
usb 5-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
cdc_acm 5-1:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device <—— Note the cdc_acm driver was loaded for it and the device is under ttyACM0 (/dev/ttyACM0)

Unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out how to use NetworkManager under RHEL 5.3 (yet) so I reverted back to the standard “network” service instead.

Example: (You DO NOT need to do this if you’re NOT using NetworkManager)
shell> sudo /sbin/service NetworkManager stop
shell> sudo /sbin/chkconfig –level 2345 NetworkManager off
shell> sudo /sbin/chkconfig –level 2345 network on
shell> sudo /sbin/service network start

Then use the “system-config-network” utility (Under – SystemAdministrationNetwork )

1. Select the “Hardware” tab and click “New”

2. Select “Modem” as the hardware type.
Note: The above info from dmesg shows “ttyACM0”, this will NOT be listed in the “Modem Device” selection (at least under mine it wasn’t), so simply erase what’s there and type in “/dev/ttyACM0” (no quotes). I left everything else the same and clicked “OK”.

3. Select the “Devices” tab and click “New” this will start a Wizard.
* Select “Modem” and click Forward.
* Fill in “Phone Number” with “#777” (no quotes)
* Fill in “Provider Name” with whatever (I put Verizon)
* Fill in “Login Name” with “AREACODEYOURWIRELESS#@vzw3g.com” (no quotes)
* Fill in “Password” with “vzw” (no quotes)
* Click Forward and leave the defaults (DNS etc.)

4. Activate your new configuration (this will restart the network controls etc)

You may want/need to set various options under the ppp configuration (like auto start etc).

You should now be able to connect. Until someone posts how to get the NetworkManager working, you may want to create a shortcut of the “Network” applet on your Panel/Desktop. 🙂

Note: There are various ways to skin this cat. I just posted the easiest way I could for the general “Desktop” usage. ;0)