Did a bit more research. The "New" router they gave me is:
Panoramic Wifi Gateway
Brand: TECHNICOLOR
Model: CGM4331COM
I looked this up and it's a 2020 model. If my understanding is correct, it has both DOCSIS 3.0 and 3.1...which I didn't know was possible. But in any case, it seems Cox didn't really change out my old Panoramic for a new one. They switched it with another old one. However, based on the specs, it can handle up to 2 Gig speeds. Soooo...no idea. Also, I see on my account that they have finally acknowledged there's an issue in my area and plan to fix it on Tuesday. We'll see how the "Cox fix" goes. Maybe the coincidence of my upgrade at the exact same date/time and a Cox issue happening in my area did happen. Wow, there's higher probability of winning the lottery, yet it may have happened here.
I wanted to allow enough time after Cox informing of the issue in the area and "resolving" the issue. Cox came out last Tuesday to our neighborhood to address whatever issue they had finally acknowledged. It has now been one week since they fixed whatever it was in our area and I have not had the drops anymore. My connection has become very stable once again and I am able to have zoom meetings without complete embarrassment of bad internet service. One thing that they have not addressed is the Download speeds. I have Gigablast and still only get in the high 300's , but it's a lot more consistent than it was before. It's constantly close to 400. Considering the horrible ups and downs, this is somewhat of a win...however knowing that I'm paying for Gig speeds and not getting it feels a bit like a scam.
Anyone thinking of going with Gigablast to improve speeds, don't waste your money with Cox. You most likely won't get Gig speeds unless Cox has built the infrastructure in your area for it. Don't take their word. Ask your neighbors instead. It's an expensive lesson I learned.
Recap: Cox had faulty wiring in my neighborhood that impacted my internet. I thought the solution was to upgrade to Gigablast. I did and nothing changed. They fixed the problem in the neighborhood after taking weeks to acknowledge (probably on purpose to get more desperate people to upgrade). Things are more stable and looks like I didn't need Gigablast and was fine with my previous, much cheaper plan.
