The US Just Banned Routers Made In Foreign Countries

Things are about to change a lot for consumers looking to purchase an internet router in the United States. That's because just this week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an update to the "Covered Equipment or Services" list, which includes all the currently banned equipment that can be purchased in the United States. The addition to this list now includes all consumer-grade "routers produced in a foreign country." Exactly what routers this includes isn't ever specified, so even if the company is based in the United States, if its production is handled outside of U.S. borders, then its products will no longer be purchasable by Americans throughout the country.

The move is part of an ongoing plan by the U.S. government to attempt to control the inclusion of foreign goods, especially electronics, within the United States. Just last year, the FCC moved to ban a popular drone company from selling new products in the U.S. That's also not to mention that several years ago, a popular overseas electronics company, Huawei, was also banned from selling its products in the U.S. after being added to the Cover List.

But with the FCC banning all "foreign" routers, what exactly does that mean? Well, for starters, it means any router made outside of the U.S. that is not already on sale will not be released in the U.S. There is a way around this, as things on the Cover List can obtain what the FCC calls "Conditional Approval," which basically requires the company to be vouched to not be a national security risk.

Which brings us to the entire reason that this massive ban is being put in place: national security. In recent years, we've seen a number of large-scale cybersecurity attacks like the Volt Typhoon attack, which the FCC says was only possible thanks to key vulnerabilities within the infrastructure used by the Massachusetts' Littleton Electric Light and Water Department's operational technology network. The vulnerabilities allowed the threat group — which is believed to have ties to China — to access the network for ten months back in 2023.

That kind of access can be devastating, too, giving the threat group unbridled access to information and controls that they shouldn't have access to. It seems the FCC is looking to cut off the possibility of consumer-grade technology being utilized in a similar method by cutting it off at the knees. By banning any devices that could possibly include these vulnerabilities, the agency hopes to maintain a bit more control over how Americans are being exposed to cybersecurity threats — at least that is how the FCC seems to be billing the change at this time.

On top of the additional security that this is meant to add, it also means that the FCC ban will greatly change what kind of new routers are available to purchase by Americans. That's because Reuters estimates that roughly 60% of the current consumer-grade routers sold in the United States are manufactured in China before being imported. That means that those companies — including heavy hitters like Google and Netgear — will need to move production to the U.S. if they want to continue offering new devices in stores.

The good news, however, is that this FCC ban doesn't affect your current router in any way. So, if you've just recently purchased one of the best routers on the market, or have one that falls under a company related to the ban, then you're still good to keep using it. You just shouldn't expect future routers from those companies to be available in the United States without some major changes to how they manufacture and produce them.