Netgear warranty is only 3 months

Purchased a Netgear N750 wireless router on 9/27/12 from Fry's Electronics. Purchased a Netgear CMD31T modem on 12/12/14 from Wal-Mart. For the past few weeks the internet was dropping several times a day. Went to Fry's, they said I needed a new router since typical life span is 2-3 years. They suggested an ASUS RT-AC1200 for my needs. Connected the new router and had uninterrupted internet for about 24 hours. Called Time Warner Cable yesterday. They did a line test and some other things and said connection should be fine. Connection lasted about 4 hours. Called TWC again and they will send a tech out. Tech showed up today and said there was a problem with the modem. He said modem life spans could be as little as 5 months. I had registered both Netgear products on line when they were purchased. I confirmed that the modem was still under warranty and then filled out an online form. I received a case number to reference and was given a list of support phone numbers to call. I spoke with a Netgear rep. She said she had to confirm that the modem was no longer working (before she could authorize a replacement) but that would cost a minimum of $79.00 (the cost of phone support for 6 months). There is only 90 days of phone support from the time a Netgear product is purchased.  I confirmed that if she was able to "fix" the problem, the $79.00 fee would not extend the original warranty beyond the original 12/12/15 expiration date. Needless to say, I declined. She said I could go to Netgear's online support to do diagnostics to confirm if the modem was faulty. I spent another 45 minutes on Netgear's online support and forums to find out how to do diagnostics myself. Doesn't appear to be anything you can do yourself.  So basically, Netgear only has a 3 month warranty. Might as well buy the cheapest modem on the market since it doesn't pay to buy a name brand.