Its not nessecarily an ntl problem and unlikely to be if its a known problem with a hardware unit of which theres a firmware update to fix the issue, (note not all issues affect everyone who has the same product).
My SMC had occasional freeze problems and needed a reboot generally at the point of lease renewal from NTL, It was fixed by a firmware update and I havnt had to reboot it in months, the modem locks now every so often and needs a reset.
Anyway wait a while see if you continually suffer the issue, if you do you will have to take the plunge and download a file, unzip it, usually to a .bin file then either login to you router page and use the f/w update, do this from a hard wired computer only, or use the firmware flash utility if there is one, also from a hardwired computer.
with reference to my point about dodgy traders etc:
All I was merely pointing out was if a product is failing its 1 either defective or 2 the product is unfit for the purpose it was intended, if the manufacturer has supplied a firmware update that fixes the problem, then for sure the firmware update done by the user is at none other than the manufacturers risk.
what can go wrong with a firmware update
1: power loss, that would really suck to have a power outage during a 20second or so operation, manufacturer should recover the flash rom which may incur a small fee
2: the user flashes with firmware for a different product, ouch really :o well maybe the manufacturer will reflash at small fee to the correct firmware if it hasnt killed the unit
3: its the right firmware but it fails and the unit will no longer boot up, defective unit and unfit for its purpose, when software and hardware goes gold (retail) its no more than a beta on sale, the uk office of netgear has a smaller network than my home or that was the case a year or so ago, my point here is in house testing is very limited hence why many products are flashable, Personally ive never seen a flash upgrade fail, but that doesnt mean it never fails.
As for Not all Etailers are bad, I really do not know of a good one to exist in the computer industry, Etailer Retailer or mailorder if they do not know you they in general do not treat you with anything other than disregard, I certainly would not recomend my 2 very good local suppliers, like most they have a very low rating and i do see them treat people very badly, how ever im fairly well known at both and so is my back ground so they just do not mess me about.
As for Dabs, I bought from them once in a while and stopped when they became the biggest mail order joke in the country
with their sudden attitude change of no advice we dont know we just sell, buy it try it, if it dont fit dont contact us :o
Im with NTL and have been since they took over my local franchise and had cable modem for over 3 years, the odd occasion I.v had a problem its been sorted eventually, a polite and courteous policy will allways have a better effect and you can still be firm in manner, Iv had several hundred ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£ÃƒÆ ’‚£'s in rebates the majority of which was for the dial up cd that was in short supply at launch, they agreed to refund all isp call charges till I got my CD. However I know many people local too me who have had nothing but problems and left them, therefore I could not recomend them to anyone either.