Shortly after the FCC decided to ban all foreign-made routers (which is essentially all of them), NETGEAR surprisingly got a conditional exemption from these new rules. This makes NETGEAR the first major brand that is allowed to keep selling new networking gear in the US despite this broader crackdown.
The FCC announced last month that it was banning all consumer routers made outside the US, citing national security risks tied to cyberattacks like Volt Typhoon and other incidents.
With this move, most companies have decided to either move production to the US or apply for a conditional approval. This is a process that requires detailed disclosures about supply chains and future manufacturing plans.
NETGEAR, however, skipped the line. Getting approval to sell its imported networking products through at least 2027. We also have no idea if the company actually committed to moving production to the US, which is a key requirement for approval, supposedly.
The FCC claims the Pentagon determined NETGEAR doesn’t post a national security risk
The FCC is justifying this decision by pointing to a determination from the Pentagon that NETGEAR’s devices don’t pose a national security risk. Of course, critics are arguing that the move undermines the entire point of the new rules. Especially since the majority of consumer routers are made overseas, there’s really no real US-based supply chain to replace them.
The broader policy from the FCC has already caused a lot of confusion across the industry. Analysts have warned that this could slow down the adoption of newer tech like WiFi 6E and WiFi 7.
For NETGEAR, this is a huge win and a major advantage. While competitors are scrambling to meet these new requirements or risk losing out on the US market, NETGEAR can now continue selling its products here in the US. This could give NETGEAR an unfair advantage.
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