The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently banned all foreign-made consumer-grade Wi-Fi routers. Although there are some exceptions, it effectively prevents any new foreign-made routers from being sold or imported into the US. The government agency has now expanded the ban to include Wi-Fi hotspots and LTE/5G customer premises equipment (CPE) devices.
Viewed by pc magazineThe FCC has updated this FAQ Regarding the ban. Although they are generally considered to be in a separate category, the restriction has expanded to include “consumer-grade portable or mobile MiFi Wi-Fi or hotspot devices for residential use”. Additionally, the ban now also includes “LTE/5G CPE devices for residential use”, which are devices that use SIM cards to access cellular networks to provide home Internet.
If you’re unfamiliar with LTE/5G CPE, T-Mobile uses the technology to provide residential Wi-Fi. However, it appears that T-Mobile is unaffected by the ban for now. The carrier offered the following statement pc magazine: :
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 as normal with no required device changes. T-Mobile will continue to work with the FCC and our vendors to ensure that future routers comply with the FCC’s updated guidelines.
At the moment, the ban only affects new devices, so existing models are safe. The restriction also only affects consumer-level products, so enterprise routers, hotspots, and CPE devices are also protected. As far as smartphones with hotspot features go, it looks like you won’t have to worry about them either.
Earlier this month, the FCC granted conditional approval to some foreign-made routers, with Netgear being the first. The company’s Nighthawk and Orbi routers have received approval until October 1, 2027. It’s possible that the FCC may grant temporary exemptions for some Wi-Fi hotspots in the future.
