FCC adds mobile hotspots to router ban • The Register
FCC adds mobile hotspots to router ban • The Register
https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/24/fcc_does_a_doubletake_adds/
Publish Date: 2026-04-24 12:03:00
Source Domain: www.theregister.com
America’s telco regulator has clarified its ban on foreign-made routers also includes mobile hotspots and domestic routers that use a 5G cellular connection to the internet.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced – about a month ago – an effective ban on new consumer-grade network routers manufactured abroad from being sold in the US.
Now, perhaps realizing it had made an oversight, the agency has updated its FAQs about the issue to include “consumer-grade portable or mobile MiFi Wi-Fi or hotspot devices for residential use” and “LTE/5G CPE devices for residential use,” where CPE refers to customer premises equipment (CPE).
This extends the ban to portable Wi-fi hotspot devices that provide internet access almost anywhere, and home routers that use a cellular connection to the internet instead of a landline.
However, mobile phones that support hotspot features are not included, nor are industrial, enterprise, or military equipment – for now, at least.
The purported reason for the ban is national security, as The Register noted in March. The FCC updated its Covered List to include all foreign-made consumer routers. This list details equipment and services covered by Section 2 of The Secure Networks Act, which, by their inclusion, are deemed to pose “an unacceptable risk” to US national security.
But the rule does not apply retroactively, meaning that it applies only to new models and does not prevent the import, sale, or use of any existing models that the agency had previously authorized.
The policy has drawn criticism because the vast majority of consumer router kit is manufactured abroad, or perhaps assembled in the US from foreign-made components.
The ban has also drawn criticism as a thinly veiled attempt to compel domestic manufacturing, since obtaining an exemption requires vendors to…
