The Federal Communications Commission has prohibited the sale of new consumer-grade WiFi routers and mobile hotspots manufactured outside the United States. The rule targets equipment from companies with foreign ownership or manufacturing, covering both physical retail and online sales. It takes effect soon.
If you buy a router from Amazon, Best Buy, or your ISP, you'll increasingly see "Made in USA" labels where you didn't before. The ban could limit choices and potentially raise prices as domestic manufacturers face less competition. But it's also a security play — the government has long worried that foreign-made networking gear could contain backdoors or be disabled remotely in a geopolitical crisis.
The ban doesn't affect routers you already own, so there's no need to panic-replace anything. It's a forward-looking policy meant to reshape the supply chain over time.