Shoutbox

I'm assuming power cycling is putting the modem through its power cycle i.e. reboot it.  I think your IP only changes if someone else needs your old one which in always-on broadband terms is relatively rarely.  If you need to keep one, get an ethernet broadband modem, which stays connected since your computer connects to it (almost instantly) as a seperate LAN connection, and configuration usually works via a little web panel hosted on the modem.