If you’re living in rural Ghana, sure you might not have electricity or running water — but that doesn’t mean you can’t have Internet access! With a few bucks a month and some patience (the connection isn’t exactly blazing), you can do it, and here is how… [drum roll please]…
Buy the equipment
1. Buy an unlimited data SIM card from MTN ($20/month) or Tigo ($40/month)
2. Buy an unlocked Motorola Razr V3 from a cell phone store, put the SIM card in, and make sure it comes with a USB Cable
3. If you don’t have electricity, might be a good idea to invest in a foldable solar array like the 26W Brunton, and DC adapters for the phone and laptop.
Get configured
(these instructions show how to configure the Razr as a tethered modem with your laptop - I use a data cable rather than bluetooth since wiring is more dependable)
note: for both of the following, you will need the [apn], the [user] and [password]. for MTN [apn] is internet and user/password are blank. for Tigo [apn] is web.tigo.com.gh and user/password are both guest.
on Vista/XP:
a. download the Handset USB Driver from Motorola [link]
b. plug in your razr using a USB cable
c. the USB Modem will show up in the Device Manager. go to options for the modem, and enter the following under the “Extra initialization commands” in the Advanced tab: AT+CGDCONT=1, “IP”, “[apn]”
d. set up a new connection in the Network Connections, using that modem, and with the telephone number equal to the following: *99***1#
e. right click and press connect on the connection you just created, put in the [user] and [password]
f. press OK, and you should be connected.
on Mac:
a. download the Motorola Razr Modem script, unzip it, and put it in your “/Library/Modem Scripts” directory [link]
b. plug in your razr using a USB cable
c. open the Network panel in system preferences. you should see an item called “Motorola Phone (V3)”. select it and press configure.
d. under the “PPP” tab, enter the [user] for “Account Name”, [password] for “Password”, and [apn] for “Telephone Number”.
e. under the “Modem” tab, select “Motorola GPRS CID1”. Press Apply Now
f. highlight the “Motorola Phone (V3)” option again, press Connect, and you should be connected.
