The FCC router ban has Netgear and TP

The FCC banned new foreign-made routers on March 23 by adding them to its Covered List, the roster of equipment it won't certify on national security grounds. The entry carves out an exception for routers that the Department of War or the Department of Homeland Security has granted a conditional approval Opens a new window , however. Five months in, 19 router makers Opens a new window hold one, including eero, Nokia, Zyxel and SpaceX. TP-Link isn't currently among them.

Netgear cleared the process first. In an 8-K filed April 14, the firm said it was the first retail consumer router company Opens a new window approved. Netgear also noted that it can keep launching new models and that competitors that haven't received approval can still sell whatever they have already built. The filing doubled as a press release of sorts, presenting a national security rule as a market advantage.