A member of the team was at one of the outlets of one of our GSM network operators (this is so embarassing that we are withholding the name) to have her line activated for mobile internet service.

Here is what the representative who handled her issue said to her:

Don’t use your phone as a modem. It will spoil it.

Breaking News: Using your phone as modem will destroy it!

There. That’s official from one of our GSM networks. Using this built-in functionality on your mobile phone will destroy it. Any representatives from Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, HTC or Motorola want to chip in on this?

Somehow, something must be wrong with the phones we have been using since GSM arrived on these shores – we have used almost every single one of them as modems extensively (sometimes for over a year each), and not one of them ever got destroyed.

We want to ask, What are these guys smoking? But we understand that what the representative didn’t say was that they would prefer if she purchased one of their own USB modems for use instead.

Did we hit the nail on the head or not?

Of the four (4) GSM networks, setting up a connection between a capable phone and PC for internet access on three of them, namely: MTN, Glo, and Etisalat, is a simple, straightforward affair. Once you have your data cable (or Bluetooth connection), APN, username and password, you are good to go. With Zain however, there is one further step to be taken – a proxy must be setup or else the internet connection won’t work.

Here is a concise guideline to help you get things working.

Install Your Phone’s PC Suite on the PC

This usually comes in an installation CD in the phone sales package. Slot the CD in the CD drive and complete the installation.

Connect Your Phone to the PC

I’m assuming that you are using a USB cable here. Connect the cable to your phone and then to the PC. Your PC should indicate that your phone has been connected, and tell you your phone is ready to be used.

Launch the PC Suite on PC

Under the “Programmes” menu, launch the PC Suite application. Select the “Internet Connection” menu. The title may vary a bit, so don’t panic if that’s not exactly what you see. In Sony Ericsson PC Suite, for example, it is called “Mobile Networking”.

Some PC Suite applications automatically setup the connection. Others may require you to manually do so. If you can’t get the PC to establish an internet connection, select the manual setup option, and use the following parametres wherever a request for any of them is made by the application:

- APN: wap.ng.zain.com
- Username: wap
- Password: wap
- IP address: 172.18.254.5
- Port: 8080

Complete the setup by clicking the relevant button, and now you have just one more step to go. Yes; just one more.

Setup a Proxy in Your Browser

If you use Internet Explorer, follow these steps:
Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections -> Settings -> Look in the section titled “Proxy Server”, tick the box that reads “Use a proxy server for…” and enter the following:

Address: 172.18.254.5
Port: 8080

Also tick the check box that says, “Bypass proxy server for local addresses”. Then click “OK”, and “OK”.

If you are using Firefox, you are likely to know what to do to setup a proxy, but here goes all the same:

Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> Network -> Connection -> Settings

Under Connection Settings, tick “Manual proxy Configuration”, and enter the following:

HTTP proxy: 172.18.254.5
Port: 8080

Then click “OK”, and “OK

That’s It

You should be able to browse now on your PC using a Zain line on your phone.

PS:
1. Your phone must have a modem built-in for this to work
2. Your Zain line must have been activated/provisioned for Zain mobile internet (To get provisioned, send SMS in the format, “internet sonyericsson P910i”, to 232, save the settings sent to you by SMS, and start browsing.)

For Other GSM Networks

For other GSM networks, use the following settings for the connection (no need for a proxy with any of them)

MTN
- APN: web.gprs.mtnnigeria.net
- Username: web
- Password: web
- IP address: 10.199.212.2
- Port: 8080 or 9201

GloMobile
- APN: glosecure
- Username: gprs
- Password: gprs
- IP address: 010.100.098.022
- Port: 8080 or 9201

Etisalat
- APN: etisalat
- Username: blank
- Password: blank
- IP address: blank
- Port: blank