GoKawiilIn a bombshell announcement, the Federal Communications Commission announced on March 23 that it would be banning all foreign-made Wi-Fi routers. On Tuesday, Netgear became the first company to be granted an FCC exemption, despite its routers being manufactured in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan.
"As a US-founded and -headquartered company, Netgear is aligned with the vision for a more secure digital future for our customers," Netgear CEO CJ Prober said in a statement.
The FCC's ban doesn't apply to any existing routers that it has already authorized, so you don't need to rush out and replace your router immediately. If you were thinking about buying a new router soon, I'd hold off until we learn more about how the ban shakes out.
The order currently applies to any new models “produced in foreign countries.” Router manufacturers can apply for an exemption. So far, Netgear is the only company that's been granted "Conditional Approval" on the FCC’s website.
This is a monumental development for the domestic Wi-Fi router market. Nearly every router available for purchase in this country is at least partially manufactured outside the US, including TP-Link, Asus and Netgear. An estimated 60% of routers in the US are manufactured in China.
According to a list of FAQs published by the FCC, a router will be considered foreign-made if “any major stage of the process through which the device is made, including manufacturing, assembly, design and development” occurs outside the US.
“Following President Trump’s leadership, the FCC will continue do our part in making sure that US cyberspace, critical infrastructure and supply chains are safe and secure,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement.
When CNET contacted the FCC for more clarity on the order, we were referred to the commission's "Covered List" FAQ page.
The FCC says that routers produced abroad were “directly implicated” in the Volt, Flax and Salt Typhoon cyberattacks. The Salt Typhoon attack specifically exploited Cisco routers to gain access to the networks of US internet providers like AT&T, Verizon and Lumen, which owns CenturyLink and Quantum Fiber.
“This is using an extremely blunt instrument, and it’s going to impact many harmless products in order to stem a real problem,” William Budington, a technologist for the digital rights nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, told CNET. “This takes place in the context of mass defunding of cyberdefense initiatives. There's a lack of a good federal testing lab for consumer grade routers due to budget cuts.”
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