After the people at the upgrade phone number told me to visit my not-so-nearby Cox Solutions store to see the DPQ3212, I made a trek there today to find out more about this device.
Unfortunately, the people at the store are pretty clueless about wiring and really didn't understand what this change means. At least some of the Cox people responding here seem to have some idea,
Even though I couldn't get a lot of information from the Cox Solutions store, I did find out some things:
- I was told the Cisco DPQ3212 was "decommissioned" about 2 weeks ago. Instead, they're now giving telephone customers the Arris TM3402A. He said the Arris unit was DOCSIS 3.1 and the Cisco unit was DOCSIS 3.0 and they didn't want to have to deal with upgrade issues down the line. (Maybe it also has to do with someone else mentioning on this thread that the DPQ3212 has been discontinued.) He did find one DPQ3212 in the back I could see. He seemed to hint that customers with the Cisco unit could get stuck with paying an upgrade fee later, so the Arris unit is better.
- I was also told that the Arris TM3402A doesn't have a battery option. I complained about the landline not having power and I don't think he really understood. Then he told me I could buy an APC battery backup unit for around $60 and plug the modem into that. (It didn't sound like Cox sold the APC unit; he just told me I could buy one to solve the problem of the landline not functioning if the power went out.) That's crazy.
- I found the Arris unit on the Cox website and Cox says there is a battery option for it, although it's external. Scroll to the bottom of this page (https://www.cox.com/business/support/arris-tm3402.html) and click on Battery Guide. Why is it that the person at the store doesn't even know about this option?
- He called it VOIP even though earlier in this thread, another Cox person said it's not VOIP.
- He said Cox recommends having separate modems for telephone (provided by Cox) and internet.
- He had no idea when Cox would shut off the Cornerstone system.
I also called AT&T today to find out about getting a real POTs line. I'm trying to figure out alternatives in case the Cox system doesn't work. I've googled a lot of things and seen various good/bad reports from people using other cable companies' telephone systems, as well as telco non-POTs systems (U-verse, FIOS). On the back end, it's all IP telephony, but the real issue seems to be how good the equipment is that's doing the conversion from analog to IP.
I'm also surprised that Cox doesn't include a battery automatically. Some threads I read said that because of E911, the telcos have to provide battery backup if it's not powered by the telco. Has that regulation changed?
It sure would be nice if Cox people had consistent stories about this equipment. I seem to get more confused the more I try to figure things out.
I'm also going to have to rewire some things to make this work and find a place to put the modem. Cox has no appreciation for that hassle.
