FCC Expands Foreign Router Ban to Hotspots, CPE

The Federal Communications Commission has expanded its ban on new foreign-made consumer-grade routers to include portable WiFi hotspots and LTE/5G customer premises equipment used for residential internet, according to a recent update to the agency's FAQ.

The clarification, added last week, specifies that the restrictions now cover consumer-grade portable or mobile MiFi, WiFi or hotspot devices intended for residential use, as well as LTE/5G CPE devices that connect via SIM cards to cellular networks for home internet. These join previously banned consumer routers, which the FCC defines broadly as self-installable networking devices that forward data packets between systems for residential or small-business use. The policy stems from a March 2026 White House national security determination identifying vulnerabilities in such foreign-produced equipment that could be exploited by hackers for attacks on U.S. infrastructure.

Devices already approved by the FCC before the ban remain unaffected and can continue to be imported, sold and used without interruption. Smartphones with tethering or hotspot features are exempt, as are enterprise-grade equipment. T-Mobile, which offers...