FCC's Foreign-Made Router Ban Expands to Portable Wi-Fi Hotspot Devices

The US ban on foreign-made Wi-Fi routers also affects portable Wi-Fi hotspot devices, according to an update from the Federal Communications Commission. 

On Wednesday, the FCC updated its FAQ on the ban, clarifying which consumer-grade routers are subject to the restrictions. 

Portable Wi-Fi hotspots are usually considered a separate category from Wi-Fi home routers. Both offer internet access, but portable Wi-Fi hotspots use a SIM card to connect to a cellular network rather than an Ethernet cable inside a residence. However, the FCC’s FAQ now specifies that “consumer-grade portable or mobile MiFi Wi-Fi or hotspot devices for residential use” are covered under the ban. 

(Credit: FCC)

The ban also affects "LTE/5G CPE devices for residential use,” which are installed for fixed wireless access and use a carrier’s cellular network to deliver home internet. 

An FCC spokesperson later said no policy was changed, only that the FAQ page is periodically updated to answer frequently asked questions, including whether the ban affected portable hotspot devices.

The FAQ reiterates that the foreign-made router ban only applies to consumer-grade devices, not enterprise products. The document also notes that mobile phones with hotspot features remain outside the restrictions.

In addition, the ban only affects new router models that vendors plan to sell, not existing models, as T-Mobile emphasized to PCMag.

“The FCC's updated list of 'covered devices' does not affect any existing routers that were previously approved, so current customers have nothing to worry about and no action to take and their service will continue to operate normally with no equipment change necessary,” the carrier said. “T-Mobile will continue to work with the FCC and our vendors to ensure future routers are compliant with the FCC's updated guidelines.”

The FCC is also offering companies temporary exemptions to the foreign-made router ban. But this involves submitting an application that includes a detailed plan to migrate their manufacturing to the US and justifying why manufacturing needs to be sourced outside the country in the short-term. On Wednesday, Amazon's eero joined Netgear and Adtran—all US companies—in receiving an 18-month exemption, known as "conditional approval."

Still, the FAQ change could be seen as a subtle but significant expansion of the ban the FCC announced last month, after the White House determined that foreign-made consumer routers risk introducing supply chain vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit to attack the US.

“The expansion into new product categories, most recently Wi-Fi hotspot devices, illustrates how easily this approach can extend beyond its initial scope to additional classes of connected devices,” says Shawn DuBravac, chief economist for the Global Electronics Association, which advocates for thousands of companies in the IT supply chain. He worries that the FCC could replicate the ban for any number of product categories since most electronics are made outside the US.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from the FCC.