USB modem wont work on ibook

Hello all, I'm working for a visually impaired service in Hull, evaluating suse linux 7.3 on an apple ibook. No matter what I do I cant get the usb internal modem to dial after configuring with either yast or yast2. The kernel is 2.4.1.2 If anyone has had similar problems or knows how to fix it I'd be most grateful If I run wvdial it comes back with invalid argument, even though I have chosen the correct usb port in Yast2. Thanks Andy