Chuckh1958: From a FAQ found on Verizon's site:
Verizon monitors the health of customer connections and receives some data from the router/modem. For example, we get updates when certain events occur, such as the router/modem being reset to factory defaults. Verizon also pushes out updated firmware to the router/modem and may make configuration/setting changes as-needed to add features, correct bugs and improve security.
Wish they were monitoring the health of my connection a little more closely.