Cable lobby warns of chaos if FCC doesn't relax ban on foreign routers
Article excerpt
The cable industry's lobbying group, NCTA, is pushing the FCC to relax its ban on foreign-made routers, warning that strict enforcement could create supply-chain chaos. The group cites shortages of memory chips and circuit-board substrates as reasons why manufacturers can't source equipment domestically. The FCC implemented the ban to address national security concerns and reduce reliance on foreign hardware, but NCTA argues the restriction is impractical without temporary waivers. The request highlights the tension between supply-chain realities and security policy in broadband equipment.
The cable industry's primary lobby group is seeking a waiver of the Federal Communications Commission ban on foreign routers, warning of potential chaos if cable Internet service providers can't change some of the components in routers they offer to home broadband users.
In March, the FCC added all consumer-grade routers made at least partly outside the US to its Covered List, which imposes restrictions on devices deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to national security. The change affected virtually all consumer routers, preventing new or changed models from being imported into or sold in the US.
In a petition filed on Tuesday, NCTA-The Internet & Television Association asked the FCC to grant an expedited waiver allowing its members' suppliers to "substitute substrate materials and memory modules in the previously certified routers that are now on the Covered List" as long as the changes "are otherwise consistent" with FCC regulations.
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