Re: The US government just banned consumer routers made outside the US

On 25/03/2026 21:23, Marc Haber wrote:
> Charlie Gibbs <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On 2026-03-25, Nomen Nescio <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> In December, the Federal Communications Commission banned all future
>>> drones made in foreign countries from being imported into the United
>>> States, unless or until their maker gets an exemption. Now, the FCC has
>>> done the exact same for consumer networking gear, citing "an unacceptable
>>> risk to the national security of the United States and to the safety and
>>> security of U.S. persons."
>>
>> Right.  As if U.S. tech oligarchs are any more trustworthy.
> 
> Does any US tech oligarch have a DSL, cable or LTE router that
> satisfies those new rules?
> 
> Greetings
> Marc

There are a number of American companies that design and sell routers 
and network equipment of various sorts that might be suitable in this 
market (Cisco, Netgear and Ubiquiti come to mind, but there are 
doubtless many more).  But production of the hardware is all done 
elsewhere.  As far as I have heard, Starlink is the only company with 
production in the USA - that fits your oligarch requirement, but they 
are not what people need for home and small office routers.

The new rules allow models to be certified and cleared for sale in the 
USA, even if they are made in other countries.  I'd imagine that will be 
a cost and an inconvenience to the big manufacturers, but they will get 
their certifications and continue to sell as before.  It will be more of 
a problem for the no-brand and cheapo manufacturers.  Customers will no 
longer be able to buy the cheapest devices from local shops - they will 
either have to buy more expensive "named" devices, or they will get 
their cheap ones from Ali Express.

It all sounds like another poorly conceived attempt at encouraging 
manufacturing in the USA by promoting paranoia and xenophobia.  If the 
rules were based on some kind of common security checks and rules (like 
"no default passwords") that applied equally to all, it would make some 
sense.