Ubuntu Networking :: Wvdial Stops Working After Upgrade From 9.04 Jaunty To 9.10 Karmic

On a fully updated Ubuntu 9.04 system, I had successfully configured wvdial to connect using a USB modem ("Update" brand) with an ID of 067b:0611 (uses the pl2303 driver module). In considering an upgrade to Ubuntu 9.10, I tried a LiveCD and was unable to connect using wvdial. However, because I had made the CD a couple months before, I went ahead with the upgrade (via the internet; not a fresh install) in the hopes that it would end up working or I would be able to find a solution for it.

The Problem: The upgrade was a success as far as I could tell, but when I tried to connect to the internet with wvdial, I was not able to. I checked the wvdial.conf settings to make sure they were the same as before, added some new ones I thought it might need, unplugged the modem and replugged it, restarted my system, etc., but all to no avail. Whenever I would try to run wvdial to connect, I would get the following output:

Code:

--> WvDial: Internet dialer version 1.60
--> Cannot get information for serial port.
--> Initializing modem.
--> Sending: ATZ

[code]....

This was different than the output I used to get with wvdial, but when I went over to my browser (Firefox) the internet worked fine. I'm assuming my email client and other things will work okay as well, but have not tested them as of yet.

A final touch I did to make connecting a bit less 'painful' was to right-click on the panel (at the top of the default Ubuntu screen), and click on 'Add to Panel'. Then I selected 'Custom Application Launcher', chose 'Application in Terminal' for 'Type', gave the launcher a name, pasted in that 'horrifically' long command line above, gave a brief description in the 'comment' box, then pressed 'OK'. Voila! I now have a launcher on my panel that with a single-click will bring up a terminal screen where I enter my sudo password and it connects. Then when I want to disconnect I just go back to that terminal, press Ctrl+C, which promptly disconnects me and causes the terminal to vanish into thin air.

Now, I don't know enough about this stuff to know why this command worked and wvdial didn't, but if you know, feel free to post a reply. Or if you'd like to see what settings I had for wvdial that worked in 9.04 but not in 9.10, let me know. Or if you think it's worth checking to see if this should be posted as a bug in either wvdial or Ubuntu, you can mention that as well.