WASHINGTON – The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has expanded its criteria for blacklisting telecommunications equipment deemed a national security risk, a move that restricts the sale of all new foreign-made consumer routers. The agency has updated its Covered List and issued an immediate ban on these devices.
The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has updated its "Covered List" by adding a new category covering all consumer routers made in foreign countries. These devices are now officially considered to pose an "unacceptable risk to national security." This action applies to all manufacturers of such equipment, rather than naming specific companies.
Inclusion on the Covered List effectively bars new equipment from the U.S. market. The FCC is prohibited from authorizing equipment from listed entities, and federal funds cannot be used to purchase or maintain their products. This list already includes Chinese tech giants Huawei and ZTE, whose new equipment authorizations were halted in 2022 over espionage concerns.
The initiative stems from persistent government concerns about supply chain security. Officials worry that hardware manufactured in adversarial nations could contain hidden backdoors for surveillance or be used to disrupt network traffic, which many consumers attempt to protect using tools like a VPN. By targeting the equipment itself, the FCC aims to prevent potentially compromised devices from connecting to U.S. networks.
As a result of this ban, consumers will see a shift in the market. While the intended outcome is to improve security for home and business networks, potential impacts include reduced product selection and potentially higher prices for approved devices.
