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Last week, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took the drastic step of banning the future import of consumer-grade Wi-Fi routers manufactured overseas . The announcement rang alarm bells, as nearly all consumer routers available are produced outside the U.S., leaving a potentially vast vacuum for anyone who needs to replace their router in the coming months. We reached out to TP-Link, Asus, Netgear, and Linksys for comment to get the deeper story on the ins-and-outs of the new measures.
So, why is the FCC taking this step? There's no secret that President Donald Trump and his administration have made national security a top priority, and the president's 2025 National Security Strategy determined, “the United States must never be dependent on any outside power for core components—from raw materials to parts to finished products—necessary to the nation’s defense or economy. We must re-secure our own independent and reliable access to the goods we need to defend ourselves and preserve our way of life.”
You may like FCC bans import of new consumer routers not made in the US over security threat DJI sues the FTC over its prohibition on importing new models of foreign-made drones into the U.S. US Department of Commerce lifts planned crackdown on Chinese drones, including DJI “I welcome this Executive Branch national security determination, and I am pleased that the FCC has now added foreign-produced routers, which were found to pose an unacceptable national security risk, to the FCC’s Covered List ,” added FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. “Following President Trump’s leadership, the FCC will continue to do our part in making sure that U.S. cyberspace, critical infrastructure, and supply chains are safe and secure.”
There are a few things to consider with this new directive, however. For starters, it doesn't affect routers that have already been imported into the U.S. and are currently available for sale (or those that have been sold and are currently in the hands of end-users). So, at least for the near-term, your average John or Jane Doe shouldn't notice any changes in availability when shopping for a wireless router from your favorite brick-and-mortar or online retailer.
However, things could change once the existing stock of routers depletes at various retailers, and even then, only if manufacturers haven’t secured a spot on the Conditional Approval list. If manufacturers aren’t able to secure Conditional Approval and consumer routers are banned from sale, we could see a shortage, which in turn would lead to price increases affecting all consumers. We've already seen what the AI craze has done to the supply of memory, which, in turn, has ushered in significant price hikes over the past year. There’s the potential for this type of scenario to play out in the router market if the U.S. becomes overly stringent with approvals.
These actions would also likely affect ISPs, which provide routers to customers when they sign up for new service. All in all, it’s a tricky situation for all involved.
We reached out to several popular router manufacturers, including TP-Link, Asus, Netgear, and Linksys. Netgear and TP-Link provided statements to Tom’s Hardware on their respective positions. Asus posted a statement on its U.S. website. Not surprisingly, TP-Link, which has already been on shaky ground with the U.S. government in recent years for its ties to China , seemed almost upbeat about the announcement.
"This action from the FCC appears to affect virtually all new consumer-grade routers seeking authorization to be sold in the United States," wrote TP-Link in a statement to Tom's Hardware . "Because nearly every manufacturer in this sector produces hardware abroad or relies on a global supply chain, this new requirement will set a bar for the entire industry. Placing all manufacturers and their supply chains under the same scrutiny is a positive step in the direction of making the router industry more secure."
TP-Link has been singled out in the past by both the Biden and Trump administrations, and it has even established its headquarters in Irvine, California, where it employs several hundred people. However, with this new action from the FCC, TP-Link likely feels that it is no longer solely under the microscope, and all of its competitors will have to play by the same rules to curry favor with the U.S. government.
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Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/networking/routers/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/networking/routers/heres-what-the-fcc-ban-on-foreign-manufactured-routers-actually-means-for-consumers#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.