The majority of American homes have foreign-made routers, but the order does not affect already-purchased devices.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned all imports of foreign-made commercial routers March 23, a move that targets Chinese-linked brands found to pose national security risks.
“Today, the FCC took additional action to safeguard Americans and the communications networks we rely on,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr posted on X. “This action means that new models of foreign-produced routers will no longer be eligible for marketing or sale in the U.S.”
The decision followed a March 20 report by an executive branch interagency body with national security expertise. The report found commercial routers—the boxes used in homes to connect computers, phones and other smart devises to the internet—posed an unacceptable risk to the United States.
“Allowing routers produced abroad to dominate the U.S. market creates economic, national security, and cybersecurity risks,” the report stated.
A majority of the routers in American homes and businesses are made in foreign countries. The devices are critical to the nation’s economy and defense, and the U.S. “can no longer depend on foreign nations for router manufacturing,” according to the report.
The FCC action doesn’t affect any previously purchased consumer routers. Those can continue to be used, according to the agency.
The FCC’s announcement was welcomed by Chris McGuire, a senior fellow for China and emerging technologies on the Council on Foreign Relations.
“Hopefully the intent is to implement this in a similar way to the FCC’s recent foreign drone restrictions: Prohibit devices from Chinese companies, while whitelisting devices from basically every allied/partner company,” McGuire posted on X. “If so, this will be extremely helpful, and will effectively ban the future sale of TP-Link routers and other Chinese routers that pose clear national security risks. The FCC is gradually becoming the lead agency on import controls.”
TP-Link, a Chinese company, is the world’s largest commercial wi-fi and home router manufacturer and controls a substantial share of the U.S. home routers market.
Ninety-six percent of Americans use routers as a primary means to access the internet, the group found. The tools are also critical for managing the flow of data for infrastructure and emergency services.
“Given the criticality of routers to the successful functioning of our nation’s economy and defense, the United States can no longer depend on foreign nations for router manufacturing,” the report stated.
