- FCC Says Foreign-Made Routers No Longer Allowed
- Your existing home router is safe from the ban
- About 60% of U.S. home routers are made in China
After nationwide blocking companies like Huawei and DJI in recent years, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has now completely banned new routers that aren’t made in the United States.
The ruling applies to “consumer routers” that are “produced in foreign countries,” the FCC says, and approval will not be granted to such devices in the future – although those already on sale and in use are safe.
According to the FCC, routers manufactured outside the borders of the United States represent both a “supply chain vulnerability” and a “serious cybersecurity risk.” In other words, there is suspicion that router supply problems could disrupt the US economy and infrastructure and that they could be used by foreign states to spy on the communications of US citizens.
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This is part of a broader move by the United States to reduce its dependence on other countries for hardware and software. The FCC statement notes a series of recent cyberattacks – including Volt, Flax and Salt Typhoon – involving foreign-made router technology.
What does this mean for my Wi-Fi network?
Finding a router made in the United States isn’t so simple: Many American companies that sell routers to consumers, including Google and Netgear, have their products manufactured overseas. PK Press Club estimates that about 60% of home routers in the United States are made in China and imported.
It looks like companies will have to change their manufacturing processes or abandon the US market – although they can seek “conditional approval” from the FCC for new routers. At the moment, it is not yet clear how easy this would be to obtain.
However, it should be emphasized that nothing will happen to your current router or home Wi-Fi network, which will continue to function normally. The FCC ban only applies to upcoming new products, not to routers already approved or offered for sale.
It’s possible that U.S.-based router makers will be treated more favorably than foreign entities in the future — TP-Link is one of the companies accused of having close ties to the Chinese government — but it will be some time before we have a full picture of how that decision will play out.
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