I think its a little more complicated then that. Doesn't Netgear charge different prices to providers based on the firmware features they choose? I remeber when the CG3000DV1 was in Beta and the device didn't even have a reset function from the UI. It didn't have any logs. Its a shame that Cox would punish their customers with a inferior product just because they didn't want to spend the money training their representatives enough to support that product.
I believe Cox never gave Home Networking the attention it deserved, and thats why they fail at it IMHO. I don't mean this as a personal attack, since all the employees here have always been nice and helpful, but more a comment on the way Cox as a company has changed directions in the last 3-4 years.