What The FCC's Router Ban Could Mean for You

The U.S. government is banning the importation of new routers made overseas, meaning consumers will no longer be able to purchase devices from many popular manufacturers. On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) added all consumer-grade routers produced abroad to its "Covered List" of communications equipment that poses an "unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons." The agency specifically cited the exploitation of foreign-made routers in the Volt, Flax, and Salt Typhoon cyberattacks.

But the thing is, the vast majority of routers are manufactured overseas. So where does that leave you?

What does the FCC router ban cover?

The FCC's order bans the import of "all consumer-grade routers produced in foreign countries." While there is no list of specific companies or devices covered by this ban, at least 60% of home routers in the U.S. are estimated to come from China—and almost none are made here, a notable exception being Starlink's Wifi router. (The ban also covers routers designed by U.S. companies but manufactured abroad.)

There could be exceptions to the ban in the future, as the federal government will grant "conditional approval" to companies that provide details about their operations, including information about corporate structure, manufacturing and supply chains, and plans to "establish or expand" production in the U.S. But that's all up in the air at this point.

This isn't the first step the federal government has taken to ban devices made by companies with foreign ties, including routers. Late last year, several agencies, including the Departments of Commerce, Homeland Security, Justice, and Defense, proposed a ban on future sales of TP-Link routers following a review that began during the Biden administration. Other bans include sales of antivirus software made by Russia's Kaspersky Labs and telecom devices from Huawei and ZTE. The FCC also recently banned foreign-made drones for similar security reasons.

What the ban means for your router

The FCC's action does not affect existing routers, so if you have a device made by a foreign company, you can keep using it as normal. If you're currently in the market for a new router, there's no rush—retailers will also continue to be able to sell and import all routers previously approved for sale through FCC's equipment authorization process.

However, since the ban covers the majority of companies that make routers U.S. consumers buy, in the future you won't be able to upgrade to a newly released device from foreign manufacturers like TP-Link and Netgear unless those models receive conditional approval from the FCC.

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