Elon Musk’s Starlink secured an exemption from the Trump administration’s ban on foreign-made routers.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in a public notice noted that the devices did not pose a national security risk and granted the SpaceXAI brand with a waiver that runs to February 1, 2028. The SpaceXAI devices join a small but growing cohort of trusted device makers that includes Netgear, Adtran, and Amazon’s Eero line.
Starlink routers are produced in a factory in Bastrop, Texas, and labeled "made in the USA." But a PCMag report revealed some Router 3 and Router Mini devices say made in Vietnam."
The U.S. government earlier this year Introduced rules banning the sale of routers, LTE/5G customer premises equipment (CPE), and Wi-Fi hot spot devices containing parts produced outside the U.S. The ban is part of a growing FCC effort to counter China-centric security concerns in the wake of the infamous Salt Typhoon attacks.
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA), which organizes the annual CES event in Las Vegas, had called out that under the router ban’s rules, device makers were only able to push security patches to already-authorized devices for just one year. That deadline has since been extended to two years.
Device makers will still have to routinely renew their status as trusted providers.
Comments