A communications system and method for monitoring modems on a communications network includes at least one modem that is configured to hav e at least a first and a second state. A media protocol device is also included that is configured to determine whether the modem is in the first state or the secon d state. The media protocol device also has a memory for storing the state of the modem. The media protocol device monitors whether the modem is toggling between the first and the second state and provides a flag when the a number of the toggles between the first and the second states is greater than a predetermined registration threshold.
