What you need to know about banning foreign-made routers in the US

Why are foreign-made routers banned?

“Malign actors have exploited vulnerabilities in foreign-made routers to attack American households, disrupt networks, enable espionage, and facilitate intellectual property theft.” The FCC wrote.. “Foreign-made routers in Volt, Flax, and Salt hurricane Cyberattacks targeting critical US infrastructure.”

Foreign-made consumer routers have been added to Covered listwhich details equipment and services “deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States.”

What routers are blocked?

The ban only affects the sale of new Wi-Fi routers aimed at consumer households. The ban does not apply to existing FCC-certified routers for sale in the United States. Pre-purchased routers already in use in homes across the country are also fine and are not part of the ban, according to FCC Frequently Asked Questions.. These routers can continue to be sold, used, and updated with new firmware.

Any new router manufactured outside the United States now requires FCC approval before it can be imported, marketed, or sold in the United States. This includes routers from US companies that are manufactured overseas, which represents the vast majority of the market at the moment.

What does foreign made mean?

This is certainly ambiguous. The ban relates to “consumer-intended” routers and could include any devices that are designed or manufactured outside the United States or are manufactured by companies that are not wholly owned or operated by the United States. All major players in the market, including Netgear, TP-Link, Asus, Amazon’s Eero, Google’s Nest, Synology, Linksys, and Ubiquiti, fall under this definition. As is the case with most, if not all, routers provided by US ISPs.

Just like Recent federal ban on dronesRouter only applies to new routers, but manufacturers can apply for it Conditional approval From the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. Requests must include details about ownership, board membership, country of origin of components, IP ownership, design, assembly, and firmware, among other things. The final section requests details of the applicant’s US manufacturing and reshoring plan, so there is a clear push to convince companies to commit to making their routers in the US.

“No routers or manufacturers have been granted conditional approval yet, but as the process begins, we expect approvals to be granted in a timely manner,” an FCC spokesperson told WIRED.

What about foreign-made components?

Well, the FCC offers some clarification on this matter Instructions (“Covered” here means blocked):

“Non-‘Covered’ devices do not become ‘Covered’ simply because they have a ‘Covered’ component part, unless the ‘Covered’ component part is a standard transmitter under FCC rules.” “Therefore, a router produced in the United States is not considered ‘covered’ equipment merely because it contains one or more foreign-made components.”

Presumably, manufacturers that import components from China but assemble them in the U.S. will be fine, although that’s not at all clear. “Applicants will need to be able to obtain sufficient evidence that the routers were not produced in a foreign country to obtain this certification, but no specific documentation or evidence is required,” according to the FCC.

Let’s take a look at the three major router brands in the US and see how they’ve been affected.

Will TP-Link be banned?

Since all of its routers are made overseas, TP-Link will have to apply for conditional approval or remanufacture in the United States to sell any new routers. Estimates vary, but TP-Link’s U.S. consumer router market share is about 35 percent, while Netgear and Asus account for another 25 percent or so.

The US Departments of Commerce, Defense and Justice have reportedly investigated the matter Consider imposing a ban on TP-Link routers for more than a year due to concerns about the company’s links to China. No ban has been enacted yet, but the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against TP-Link in February, alleging that the company was allowing the Chinese Communist Party to access American consumers’ devices. Critics also criticized predatory pricing, claiming that TP-Link flooded the US market with a wide range of affordable routers to establish dominance.

TP-Link has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and claimed it has abandoned its Chinese roots and is now headquartered in the United States with the bulk of its manufacturing in Vietnam. Jeffrey Chow, co-founder and CEO of TP-Link, recently applied for permanent residency in the United States through President Trump’s Gold Card program, according to Times of India.

“Almost all routers are manufactured outside the United States, including those produced by US-based companies like TP-Link, which manufactures its products in Vietnam,” a TP-Link spokesperson told WIRED. “It looks like the entire router industry will be affected by the FCC’s announcement of new devices that the FCC has not previously authorized.”

TP-Link is a privately owned company and is not publicly listed on any stock exchange. Chow and his wife, Hilary, are listed as the sole owners of the company.

Will Netgear be banned?

Although it is a US-founded and headquartered company, Netgear’s routers are manufactured overseas, mostly in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan, so it has to apply for conditional approval. The company has moved away from China in recent years. Netgear has pushed Government on “Cybersecurity and Strategic Competition with China.”

“We commend the administration and the FCC for their work toward a safer digital future for Americans,” a Netgear spokesperson told WIRED. “Home routers and mesh systems are critical to national security and consumer protection, and today’s decision is a step forward.”

Netgear is a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq stock exchange, owned mostly by institutional investors, including BlackRock and Vanguard. the The company’s shares rose on news of the ban, suggesting that many investors believe it will not be hit hard.

Will Asus be banned?

Asus primarily manufactures its routers in Taiwan, although it has production facilities in China and works with several third-party manufacturers. Recent tariff pressures have led the company to expand into Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico and the Czech Republic, but the bulk of its routers still come from Taiwan or China. Asus will have to apply for conditional approval to sell the new routers. The company did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.

The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and is mostly owned by public shareholders. The ban does not appear to have affected its stock price.

Are any routers manufactured in the US?

The only routers I know of that are made in the US are some of the Starlink Wi-Fi routers, which are primarily made in Texas. Starlink is part of Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, but many of the components in these routers come from East Asia.

How will blocking a router affect ordinary people?

It’s not entirely clear, but in the short term it probably won’t have much impact. There is actually a wide range of wifi routers 7 and Networked systems On the market and will continue to sell – they offer speeds far beyond what most people need at home. In the long run, whether companies revitalize U.S. manufacturing or find other ways to convince government agencies that their products do not pose a security risk, the result is likely to be higher prices for consumers. If you haven’t upgraded to the latest one WiFi standard 7Now might be a good time to do so.

Unanswered questions

The ban leaves many questions unanswered. Why is it only applied to consumer routers? Which routers or manufacturers will be given conditional approval? Why are foreign-made routers currently on sale and in our homes safe? The FCC did not answer these questions.