Mobile network subscription and devices
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Here where I am from we have many telephony and/or internet providers that deliver "mobile broadband" where you buy these Huawei devices from the subscription provider and then got a sim-card to put inside the mobile router. This connects the router to the mobile network.
I assume these Huawei routers are not running free software, but it would be better to use them with a computer, rather than a standard telephone with telephony modem, right?
Hey CalmStorm,
I think it is possible to just have the "mobile broadband" subscription and put the sim card in any kind of device that reads sim card (say a device running Replicant and has it's telephony modem removed), then you can use that as the router and be good to go:)
> put the sim card in any kind of device that reads sim card (say a device running Replicant and has it's telephony modem removed)
The purpose of the SIM card is to allow you to connect to your carrier's network though the modem. Without a modem the SIM card is useless.
Is your goal to connect to the cell network without being tracked? If so, the only option I know of that will allow you to make both calls and texts is JMP. Do you live in North America? If so, JMP is your best bet.
If you do not live in North America, perhaps you could look into Signal[1]. I have never used Signal, but I think that the Android version (which should run on Replicant) can send text messages. If so, you may be able to
- install Signal on a Replicant phone (with a SIM card and modem)
- also install Signal on a laptop (or Replicant tablet, PocketCHIP, GPD Pocket, Replicant phone with modem removed)
- Log in to the same Signal account on both devices
- Leave the phone at home at all times so that it does not track you.
- Take the other computer with you and send text messages through Signal
However, I am not certain this would work. Even if it does, it would only be for text messages, not calls. In order to make calls with Signal, the person you are calling must also be using Signal.
> The purpose of the SIM card is to allow you to connect to your carrier's network though the modem. Without a modem the SIM card is useless.
Are you sure that this is the case for the "mobile broadband"-sim cards?
Okay so cellular network is bad because you will always need a SIM card with a proprietary modem, but what about satellite? Is satellite an option?
I didn't understand your Signal example, and what is JMP?
> Okay so cellular network is bad because you will always need a SIM card with a proprietary modem,
There are two problems with the modem. The first problem is that it is proprietary. The second problem is that when it connects to the cell network via cell towers, your location is revealed. The second problem would still exist even if there were such a thing as a free modem.
> but what about satellite? Is satellite an option?
No. While some cell phones can use satellite for GPS, they cannot connect to the cell network via satellite.
> I didn't understand your Signal example,
I'll explain more throughly if JMP isn't an option for you. If you can use JMP, Signal is unnecessary.
> and what is JMP?
Read my comment here[1], and let me know if anything is unclear.
[1] https://trisquel.info/en/forum/what-are-your-thoughts-about-fairphone-2#comment-131968
Please do explain more thoroughly, I'll have a look at the link you sent:)
Read the link first, and I'll explain anything that is still unclear.
I noticed that I forgot to answer one of your questions in the other thread. I will answer it here so that you see my response.
> Does the pocketCHIP and GPD Pocket work flawlessly with Trisquel and wi-fi?
The PocketCHIP cannot run Trisquel because there is no ARM version of Trisquel. There probably will not be an ARM version of Trisquel until there is one of Ubuntu. The PocketCHIP comes with Debian (sort of, I'll explain below).
The PocketCHIP has three freedom issues:
(1) The GPU requires non-free firmware. However, if you don't require 3D acceleration then this is not a problem. Just don't install the firmware, or if it is already installed then remove it.
(2) The WiFi card requires non-free firmware. However, it has a USB port, so you can remove the non-free firmware and use a WiFi dongle instead.
(3) The PocketCHIP ships with a modified version of Debian. While Debian is free (as long as you stick to the main repository), the PocketCHIP does not work with Debian's kernel for reasons that are over my head, and the kernel used instead has proprietary blobs. I attempted to deblob this kernel using the FSFLA linux-libre scripts and compile it for the PocketCHIP, but I was unsuccessful. Maybe I should try again now that I know more. Alternatively, it is possible to flash a different operating system on the PocketCHIP using a computer running Trisquel, a USB-to-microUSB cable, and a paper clip. (As I said, it's a fun device). The only OS I've done this with is Debian (to reinstall after each time I bricked it), but I recall seeing instructions somewhere to flash Arch, which means that Arch-based free distros (Parabola or Hyperbola) might work too.
I am less familiar with the GPD Pocket, but I think that it can run Trisquel. It can come with a choice of Windows 10 or Ubuntu preinstalled. If it can run Ubuntu it should be able to run Trisquel. You can even migrate from Ubuntu to Trisquel without reinstalling, although a fresh install would be cleaner.
Freedom issues with the GPD Pocket include.
(1) GPU as usual. Just don't use it.
(2) WiFi as usual. Just use a dongle.
(3) The bootloader. No way around this.
Okay, the JMP sounds cool, but I don't live in NA, would explain what you meant with the Signal strategy?:)
I did some more research. The Signal thing won't work. While the desktop and mobile Signal clients can synchronize *Signal* messages, SMS messages can only be sent from the mobile client. The developer does not want to include any feature in the desktop client that relies on the phone being on.
https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/issues/7193
I also learned that while Signal is GPLv3, it cannot be built without proprietary Google libraries. That means that although you are allowed to exercise all four freedoms, in order to exercise freedoms one and three you must use additional software that does not respect your freedom. This is why Signal is not included in the F-Droid repository. Until Signal no longer depends on proprietary libraries to build, I do not recommend it. The developer does not seem to see removing the Google dependencies as a priority. They also seem hostile to the idea of Android/LineageOS/Replicant users installing Signal through means other than Google Play. They only began providing a .apk package on their website so that people would stop installing third-party builds. This is a good example of the "open source" camp having different priorities from the free software movement.
https://forum.f-droid.org/t/signal-discussion-about-google-play-alternative/95
Ah :/ well there goes that tactic lol :P
Anyway, cool of you to answer me back :)
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