can't install PcTel micromodem

Hi! I'M FAIRLY NEW TO UBUNTU, I INSTALLED IT SUCCESSFULLY, BUT I CAN'T GET THE PCTEL MICROMODEM TO WORK. FOLLOWING SOME INSTRUCCIONS FOUND ON WIKIPEDIA, I TRIED TO FIND VANILLA KERNEL (SUPPOSED TO BE A SURE SHOT TO MAKE IT WORK), BUT I CAN'T FIND THE SPECIFIC 2.4; I FOUND SOME OTHER TOOLS NEEDED SUCH AS GCC COMPILER AND A PROGRAM TO IDENTIFY THE CURRENT KERNEL, WICH IS THE ONE AVAILABLE ON THE 6.06 VERSION OF UBUNTU. MY SYSTEM HAS AN OLDER 750 MHZ DURON PROCESSOR, 384 MB OF RAM, 40 GB HD, ALL IN WONDER RAGE 128 VC.
EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE WORKING OK EXCEPT FOR THE MODEM, FOR THIS REASON I DON'T HAVE A CHANCE TO ESTABLISH AN INTERNET CONNECTION, BEING FOR NOW MY ONLY WAY TO GET IT WITH A PHONE LINE,
ANY HELP IS VERY WELCOME AND THANKED. I LIKE THE LOOK OF UBUNTU, AND IF IT IS SAFER THAN WINDOWS, I'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO USE IT.