Attempt #1:
Here i unplug/re-connect the 3G-pen to the computer. 
This attempt did not activate the modem! It's totally dormant. I have to try again.
See the dmesg log.

$ dmesg

[   30.235563] NVRM: GPU at 0000:01:00: GPU-ee343ab3-0561-cb3f-8dbe-79355fcc2379
[   93.946685] init: network-manager main process (1108) killed by KILL signal
[  180.183831] usb 3-1: USB disconnect, device number 2
[  192.317641] usb 3-1: new high-speed USB device number 3 using xhci_hcd
[  192.338105] usb 3-1: New USB device found, idVendor=19d2, idProduct=1542
[  192.338115] usb 3-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=1, SerialNumber=3
[  192.338120] usb 3-1: Product: MF190J
[  192.338125] usb 3-1: Manufacturer: ZTE
[  192.338129] usb 3-1: SerialNumber: 9BB27BAF013DFB85103C397DCB576195D5417DF5
[  192.338467] usb 3-1: ep 0x1 - rounding interval to 32768 microframes, ep desc says 0 microframes
[  192.338484] usb 3-1: ep 0x81 - rounding interval to 32768 microframes, ep desc says 0 microframes
[  192.339955] scsi7 : usb-storage 3-1:1.0
[  193.337771] scsi 7:0:0:0: CD-ROM            ZTE      USB SCSI CD-ROM  0001 PQ: 0 ANSI: 0
[  193.339923] sr1: scsi3-mmc drive: 0x/0x caddy
[  193.340337] sr 7:0:0:0: Attached scsi CD-ROM sr1
[  193.340698] sr 7:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 5
[  193.421364] sr1: CDROM (ioctl) error, command: Get event status notification 4a 01 00 00 10 00 00 00 08 00
[  193.422114] sr: Sense Key : Hardware Error [current] 
[  193.422122] sr: Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[  193.525406] sr1: CDROM (ioctl) error, command: Xpwrite, Read disk info 51 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00
[  193.526185] sr: Sense Key : Hardware Error [current] 
[  193.526192] sr: Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[  193.560998] sr1: CDROM (ioctl) error, command: Xpwrite, Read disk info 51 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00
[  193.561745] sr: Sense Key : Hardware Error [current] 
[  193.561752] sr: Add. Sense: No additional sense information
moma@quantal64:~$ 


Attempt #2: 
Here i unplug/re-connect the 3G-pen again. 
This time the modem reacts OK and turns red, green, and connects successfully.  
See the dmesg log.

$ dmesg
...
[  387.169007] usb 3-1: USB disconnect, device number 3
[  393.652316] usb 3-1: new high-speed USB device number 4 using xhci_hcd
[  393.672656] usb 3-1: New USB device found, idVendor=19d2, idProduct=1542
[  393.672667] usb 3-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=1, SerialNumber=3
[  393.672672] usb 3-1: Product: MF190J
[  393.672677] usb 3-1: Manufacturer: ZTE
[  393.672682] usb 3-1: SerialNumber: 9BB27BAF013DFB85103C397DCB576195D5417DF5
[  393.673014] usb 3-1: ep 0x1 - rounding interval to 32768 microframes, ep desc says 0 microframes
[  393.673025] usb 3-1: ep 0x81 - rounding interval to 32768 microframes, ep desc says 0 microframes
[  393.674397] scsi8 : usb-storage 3-1:1.0
[  394.672247] scsi 8:0:0:0: CD-ROM            ZTE      USB SCSI CD-ROM  0001 PQ: 0 ANSI: 0
[  394.674113] sr1: scsi3-mmc drive: 0x/0x caddy
[  394.674232] sr 8:0:0:0: Attached scsi CD-ROM sr1
[  394.674296] sr 8:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 5
[  394.755925] sr1: CDROM (ioctl) error, command: Get event status notification 4a 01 00 00 10 00 00 00 08 00
[  394.756558] sr: Sense Key : Hardware Error [current] 
[  394.756566] sr: Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[  394.855950] sr1: CDROM (ioctl) error, command: Xpwrite, Read disk info 51 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00
[  394.856548] sr: Sense Key : Hardware Error [current] 
[  394.856556] sr: Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[  394.906048] sr1: CDROM (ioctl) error, command: Xpwrite, Read disk info 51 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00
[  394.906669] sr: Sense Key : Hardware Error [current] 
[  394.906677] sr: Add. Sense: No additional sense information
[  395.048371] usb 3-1: USB disconnect, device number 4
[  400.684538] usb 3-1: new high-speed USB device number 5 using xhci_hcd
[  400.705468] usb 3-1: New USB device found, idVendor=19d2, idProduct=1544
[  400.705478] usb 3-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=1, SerialNumber=3
[  400.705484] usb 3-1: Product: MF190J
[  400.705489] usb 3-1: Manufacturer: ZTE
[  400.705494] usb 3-1: SerialNumber: 9BB27BAF013DFB85103C397DCB576195D5417DF5
[  400.769163] cdc_acm 3-1:1.1: ttyACM0: USB ACM device
[  400.770414] cdc_acm 3-1:1.3: ttyACM1: USB ACM device
[  400.771656] cdc_acm 3-1:1.5: ttyACM2: USB ACM device
[  400.772871] usbcore: registered new interface driver cdc_acm
[  400.772873] cdc_acm: USB Abstract Control Model driver for USB modems and ISDN adapters
[  403.248645] show_signal_msg: 57 callbacks suppressed
[  403.248650] usb_modeswitch_[19280]: segfault at 0 ip 00007f2af4533101 sp 00007ffff24eb048 error 4 in libc-2.15.so[7f2af44aa000+1b5000]


