FCC Bans Foreign-Made Routers as a 'National Security Risk'

[osu1991]

FCC Bans Foreign-Made Routers as a 'National Security Risk'

The ban applies to the sale of new routers manufactured outside the US, but anyone with existing foreign-made routers can continue to use them.

www.cnet.com

The Federal Communications Commission has moved to ban foreign-made Wi-Fi routers, according to a fact sheet released Monday afternoon.

The ban includes "all consumer-grade routers produced in foreign countries." Router manufacturers can apply for an exemption, but so far, none have been granted Conditional Approval on the FCC's website.

 

[klang]

Are there any produced domestically?

 

[cpalmer2k]

Are there any produced domestically?

Starlink's router and to a degree Netgear models are the closet to meeting the made in the USA requirement. This only affects future approvals though. Models currently approved by the FCC can still continue to be imported and sold so this will just affect future models that don't yet have FCC approval. I'm sure there will be lawsuits shortly on the topic as well.

 

[Tom Speer]

Are there any produced domestically?

I haven't seen any.

 

[b4pjoe]

Are there any produced domestically?

I can't find a list of any but I saw this:

Finding a router manufactured in the US isn't all that easy — many US companies who sell routers to consumers, including Google and Netgear, have their products made overseas. Reuters estimates that some 60% of home routers in the US are manufactured in China and imported in.

Companies are going to have to change their manufacturing processes or abandon the US market it would seem — although they can apply for "conditional approval" from the FCC for new routers. At the moment it's not clear how easy that would be to get.

https://www.techradar.com/computing/wi-fi-broadband/the-us-just-banned-new-routers-that-arent-made-in-america-heres-what-it-means-for-your-wi-fi-network

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[klang]

Pretty sure I knew the answer when I asked the question.

 

[navychop]

 

[primestar31]

Are there any produced domestically?

Look for the ones that just tripled their price after this news was announced...

 

[harshness]

This is due to the political environment of "Us versus Them". The same thing happened recently with consumer drones.

I'd much rather have a simple Chinese-made router that worked than a Cisco appliance (especially those they call "firewall") that has racked up dozens of exploited vulnerabilities.

We already have Google, Facebook, Windows, and TikTok to give up way too much of our personal information. That said, where is the harm to the public at large?

At the same time, we have top-level members of the Executive branch who can't stop using Signal.

 

[navychop]

Kill Switch.

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[Foxbat]

Google needs to get itself updated. When I asked about Starlink, it said the routers are made in the US:

SpaceX designs and manufactures its own Starlink routers, with newer, updated models produced at a company facility in Bastrop, Texas.

But the v3 Starlink Kit I just received and installed has a router that came from Vietnam:

 

[osu1991]

My Ubiquiti stuff shows made in Vietnam also

 

[ncted]

Google needs to get itself updated. When I asked about Starlink, it said the routers are made in the US:

But the v3 Starlink Kit I just received and installed has a router that came from Vietnam:

View attachment 189955​

Did you search google or ask Gemini? With both, you probably should double-check the results. Search results will provide multiple possible answers while AI will answer authoritatively even when there are conflicting answers in the data. This is why I so rarely bother asking AI questions. I'd rather use my brain to filter through possible answers to determine the truth than get an "answer" and wonder whether it is correct.

 

[Foxbat]

Did you search google or ask Gemini?

I used Google's search field. It may have been the generic search which came through Gemini, instead of my Chrome search which I've told Google to leave AI out of the process.

Google links to a BBC article here reporting that SpaceX saying Starlink routers are made in Texas. On their website, SpaceX says:

ENGINEERED BY SPACEX

Leveraging SpaceX's deep experience with both spacecraft and on-orbit operations, Starlink's advanced satellites are produced and operated in Redmond, Washington and Starlink Kits for customers are manufactured in Bastrop, Texas, all to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet all around the world.

 

[harshness]

AI is really good at spreading misleading statements from authorities. I can't say I blame it, as there's no easy way to detect lies like that.

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[ncted]

I used Google's search field. It may have been the generic search which came through Gemini, instead of my Chrome search which I've told Google to leave AI out of the process.

Google links to a BBC article here reporting that SpaceX saying Starlink routers are made in Texas. On their website, SpaceX says:

I suspect the Beeb asked the FCC or SpaceX to get that answer. Neither are particularly trustworthy sources, although it specifically says "the newer Starlink WiFi router." That is sloppy reporting and writing. Newer is a comparative adjective. Newer than what? Is v3 "newer?"

 

[Foxbat]

The term "Starlink Kits for customers are manufactured in Bastrop, Texas" could mean putting foreign components like the power supply, antenna, router, and cables into the cardboard packaging at this location. It's not a "Kit" until it's "manufactured" by putting all the pieces together in the box. I'm not sure where the antenna is made, but on the Starlink Standard Kit I received a few weeks back, the power brick is from Thailand and, as mentioned before, the Wi-Fi router is from Vietnam.

 

[NYDutch]

The term "Starlink Kits for customers are manufactured in Bastrop, Texas" could mean putting foreign components like the power supply, antenna, router, and cables into the cardboard packaging at this location. It's not a "Kit" until it's "manufactured" by putting all the pieces together in the box. I'm not sure where the antenna is made, but on the Starlink Standard Kit I received a few weeks back, the power brick is from Thailand and, as mentioned before, the Wi-Fi router is from Vietnam.

My new Gen3 Standard Wi-Fi router was made in the Netherlands, and the power supply was made in Vietnam.

 

[Foxbat]

My new Gen3 Standard Wi-Fi router was made in the Netherlands, and the power supply was made in Vietnam.

So, SpaceX is making these in a number of places. Interesting…

 

[harshness]

So, SpaceX is making these in a number of places. Interesting…

Most notably, perhaps not in the USA.

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