said by enon :said by TAZ:- Actiontec C2000A (not well-liked at all)
- Technicolor C2000T (very well-liked by the few that have them...)
That's interesting as these two products look extremely similar on the outside. Even the model number is nearly identical (maybe A for Actiontec and T for Technicolor"?). Technicolor's website is very heavy on clip art and buzzwords but light on substance. Seems like one of these may just be a rebranding of the other.
Both are for and commissioned by CenturyLink, who assigns the model numbers.
Their standard practice is to have multiple manufacturers build modems with the same specs. In this case, the C2000A and C2000T are both bonded VDSL2 modems with 4xGigE switch, 1xGigE WAN (they use the same models for GPON installations). More than likely both use the same SoC, but presumably Technicolor's quality standards are better.
My theory in the past has been that they force a price war between the two manufacturers of the same model, then buy the cheaper one. Actiontec's Qwest-branded equipment was OK but the CL-branded equipment has been universally poor (this especially includes the C1000A which is single-pair VDSL2). As with the C2000A/C2000T case, the ZyXEL C1000z is well-liked. This suggests Actiontec is willing to cut corners for a lower price to gain CL's business. (Apparently the bean counter idiots at CL haven't figured out they're just increasing their support costs, in the form of support calls and tech visits that result in replacements. But those costs won't come until the next quarter so who cares...) Interestingly, a user in the CL forum was told by a CL field tech that the C2000T costs the company less than the C2000A, but that area managers were reluctant to change their orders. They're becoming more common now so CL corporate may have done something about it.