US Bans All Foreign-Made Consumer Routers

The US government has implemented a ban on foreign-manufactured consumer routers, requiring FCC approval for all new routers made outside the country. The Executive Branch determined that foreign-produced routers introduce significant supply chain vulnerabilities that could disrupt the US economy, critical infrastructure, and national defense. Companies manufacturing routers abroad must now disclose foreign investors or influence and present plans to shift manufacturing to the US. The FCC may grant exceptions for equipment deemed acceptable by the Department of Defense or Homeland Security. Popular brands like Netgear manufacture abroad, while US-made options like Starlink WiFi routers represent limited domestic alternatives. The policy aims to address cybersecurity risks but will likely increase router costs for consumers.

This is for new routers ; you don’t have to throw away your existing ones: The Executive Branch determination noted that foreign-produced routers (1) introduce “a supply chain vulnerability that could disrupt the U.S. economy, critical infrastructure, and national defense” and (2) pose “a severe cybersecurity risk that could be leveraged to immediately and severely disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure and directly harm U.S. persons.” More information : Any new router made outside the US will now need to be approved by the FCC before it can be imported, marketed, or sold in the country...

The US government has implemented a ban on foreign-manufactured consumer routers, requiring FCC approval for all new routers made outside the country. The Executive Branch determined that foreign-produced routers introduce significant supply chain vulnerabilities that could disrupt the US economy, critical infrastructure, and national defense. Companies manufacturing routers abroad must now disclose foreign investors or influence and present plans to shift manufacturing to the US. The FCC may grant exceptions for equipment deemed acceptable by the Department of Defense or Homeland Security. Popular brands like Netgear manufacture abroad, while US-made options like Starlink WiFi routers represent limited domestic alternatives. The policy aims to address cybersecurity risks but will likely increase router costs for consumers. This is for new routers ; you don’t have to throw away your existing ones: The Executive Branch determination noted that foreign-produced routers (1) introduce “a supply chain vulnerability that could disrupt the U.S. economy, critical infrastructure, and national defense” and (2) pose “a severe cybersecurity risk that could be leveraged to immediately and severely disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure and directly harm U.S. persons.” More information : Any new router made outside the US will now need to be approved by the FCC before it can be imported, marketed, or sold in the country... This is for new routers ; you don’t have to throw away your existing ones: The Executive Branch determination noted that foreign-produced routers (1) introduce “a supply chain vulnerability that could disrupt the U.S. economy, critical infrastructure, and national defense” and (2) pose “a severe cybersecurity risk that could be leveraged to immediately and severely disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure and directly harm U.S. persons.” More information : Any new router made outside the US will now need to be approved by the FCC before it can be imported, marketed, or sold in the country. In order to get that approval, companies manufacturing routers outside the US must apply for conditional approval in a process that will require the disclosure of the firm’s foreign investors or influence, as well as a plan to bring the manufacturing of the routers to the US. Certain routers may be exempted from the list if they are deemed acceptable by the Department of Defense or the Department of Homeland Security, the FCC said. Neither agency has yet added any specific routers to its list of equipment exceptions. […] Popular brands of router in the US include Netgear, a US company, which manufactures all of its products abroad. One exception to the general absence of US-made routers is the newer Starlink WiFi router. Starlink is part of Elon Musk’s company SpaceX. Presumably US companies will start making home routers, if they think this policy is stable enough to plan around. But they will be more expensive than routers made in China or Taiwan. Security is never free, but policy determines who pays for it.