I was wondering if that was enough to start
inetd and, thus,
telnetd (the telnet server) on the modem.
Having executed
/usr/sbin/inetd &, are you now able to access the modem via telnet?
If that is unsuccessful, power cycle the modem (to reset everything) and then execute
/usr/sbin/telnetd &. Now try to access the modem via telnet, one again.
I'm not sure exactly how the various services are started on that modem . . . I do not have any experience of using one. I'm just guessing, based on the information that you have been able to show.