Instead of closing this bug, it could perhaps be best to change the package it affects to network-manager.
Anyway, I tested the E180 and it works perfectly now, without having to install usb-modeswitch. The E1820 only works after installing usb-modeswitch so that seems to be a separate issue entirely, since it failed to work in my tests using current and older Ubuntu versions.
Instead of closing this bug, it could perhaps be best to change the package it affects to network-manager.
Anyway, I tested the E180 and it works perfectly now, without having to install usb-modeswitch. The E1820 only works after installing usb-modeswitch so that seems to be a separate issue entirely, since it failed to work in my tests using current and older Ubuntu versions.