The Federal Communications Commission has announced that Netgear has been granted conditional approval that effectively exempts it from the previous ban on foreign-made networking routers. The conditional approval gives the company a de facto – though potentially temporary – monopoly on the sale and servicing of new consumer routers in the US.
“We are pleased to announce that Netgear is the first retail consumer router company to receive conditional clearance from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as a Trusted Consumer Router Company,” Netgear CEO CJ Prober said in a statement. “As a company founded and headquartered in the US, Netgear is aligned with the vision of a more secure digital future for our customers. For the past thirty years, we have been and will continue to be committed to leading the consumer router category for the United States and setting the standard for quality, performance, innovation and security.”
Both Netgear’s Nighthawk and Orbi lines of mesh routers are covered by the approval until October 1, 2027, which appears to mean that the company can continue to offer software updates for both lines and possibly release and sell new models in the future.
The FCC dramatically expanded the covered list, a collection of communications devices that pose a threat to national security, to cover all foreign-made routers in March 2026. The decision prevents companies that make routers outside the US from introducing new foreign-made models and from pushing certain software updates to existing models after March 1, 2027. However, confusingly, this does not require anyone to replace their existing router or prevent companies from selling routers they already make. Getting conditional approval is the surest way companies can get off the list, but part of the FCC’s requirements for approval is that the company present a plan to bring some or all of its manufacturing to the US — a theoretically costly decision.
Engadget has contacted Netgear for information about the US manufacturing plan included in its application for conditional approval. We will update this article if we get any response.
Most router companies, even those headquartered in the US like Netgear, make their routers in Asia. It’s not clear what makes Netgear’s current foreign-made routers more secure than the Amazon Eero 7 or Google Nest WiFi Pro. However, until other companies are granted conditional approval, Netgear is in a unique position.
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