(Source: Piotr Adamowicz/Alamy Stock Photo)

It took a while, but a group of small and midsized US cable operators and telcos recently got some relief from the FCC's ban on new, foreign-made residential routers.

Roughly three months after ACA Connects and NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association submitted their request, the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology granted the organizations an expedited waiver for routers that require relatively small hardware changes, including alterations to memory and other components that are being impacted by ongoing supply chain constraints or reaching end-of-life.

Under the order handed down on September 29, the FCC waiver essentially permits the organization's members and their suppliers to make necessary Class I and Class II hardware changes to consumer-grade routers and broadband gateways that were on the agency's "Covered List," which includes devices deemed to be a threat to national security. Generally, Class I changes include minor modifications that don't change the RF characteristics of a router, and Class II includes more substantive modifications that may alter RF performance or device emissions.

The one-year waiver granted to ACA Connects and NTCA is good through September 29, 2027. Several other suppliers and organizations have obtained similar one-year expedited waivers, including Arcadyan Technology, Askey Computer, AT&T, CTIA, NCTA, Sercomm and USTelecom. NCTA recently filed a second petition for an expedited waiver.

The FCC said the waiver granted to ACA Connects and NTCA serves the public interest "by preventing disruptions to the availability of broadband" for their respective members while still fulfilling the national security aims of the rules. The waiver will allow "hardware upgrades necessary to ensure a continuous supply of consumer broadband routers in the face of persistent supply-chain shortages," ACA Connects and NTCA said in a joint statement.

Expedited waivers and conditional approvals

Expedited waivers, such as those granted to ACA Connects and NTCA, are generally focused on consumer-grade routers that have previously been approved by the FCC, but must be reviewed again in light of any minor hardware changes, an exec with a broadband customer premises equipment (CPE) company tells Light Reading. The FCC is also granting conditional approvals, which typically apply to new router products, including Wi-Fi extenders, that have not previously gone through the FCC's certification process, the person added.

The FCC's router ban was adopted in March to clamp down on potential national security threats and to encourage suppliers to bring manufacturing stateside. While the ban does add a degree of uncertainty for suppliers and broadband service operators, most of the companies contacted by Light Reading say they have been building in about eight additional weeks to the process for routers and gateways to account for these FCC reviews. However, as ACA Connects and NTCA just saw, the FCC approval process can take much longer.

Who's doing what?

Based on FCC data and Light Reading research, here's a roundup of companies and organizations that have been granted or are seeking conditional approvals and/or expedited waivers, and the current status of those requests:

• ACA Connects/NTCA: Expedited waiver to joint submission granted. Good through September 29, 2027.

• Actiontec Electronics: Expedited waiver requested. Awaiting approval.

• Adtran: Conditional approval granted for Service Delivery Gateway-class routers. Good through October 1, 2027.

• Alpha Networks: Conditional approval granted for 1700 and 2700 series of routers. Good through November 22, 2027.

• Arcadyan Technology: Expedited waiver granted. Good through June 26, 2027.

• Arcadyan Technology: Conditional approval granted for several CPE for T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon. Good through December 12, 2027.

• Askey Computer Corp.: Expedited waiver granted. Good through September 16, 2027.

• Askey Computer Corp.: Conditional approval for the ASK-NCM1100, ASK-NCM1100E, ASK-NMC300 and ASK-NCQ8000 (Wi-Fi 8 gateways). Good through February 3, 2028.

• Asus: Conditional approval for multiple router models, repeaters and access points (RT Router Series, ROG GT Series, ROG Strix GS Series, TUF Gaming Series, ExpertWiFi Series, ZenWiFi Mesh Series, 5G MiFi Series). Good through March 6, 2028.

• AT&T: Expedited waiver granted. Good through May 15, 2027.

• Calix: Conditional approval granted for a handful of broadband routers, including GigaSpire-class routers (7u6m.2, 7u4txg, 7u4, 7u6.2) and the GigaPro 7p6. All are good through November 22, 2027.

• Comtrend: Conditional approval granted for several wireless router models (GRG-4366u, VG-8043u, PBL-6201 and NL-3131). Good through March 6, 2028.

• CTIA: Expedited waiver granted. Good through September 23, 2027.

• eero/Amazon: Conditional approval granted for several eero devices and Amazon Leo routers. Good through October 31, 2027.

• Gemtek: Conditional approval granted for the WRTQ-411BE and WNRFQQ-113BE routers. Good through January 3, 2028.

• Gryphon Online Safety: Conditional approval granted for the Parental Control Wi-Fi router. Good through January 10, 2028.

• Hitron: Conditional approval granted for a group of DOCSIS 4.0, DOCSIS 3.1 and FWA devices, including gateways, routers and hotspots.

• Humax Networks: HNR2306 and HNRM30 Wi-Fi 7 routers. Good through January 17, 2028.

• Miri Technologies: Conditional approval granted for the Miri X10 Travel Router. Good through December 12, 2027.

• NCTA: Expedited waiver granted. Good through June 9, 2027.

• NCTA: Seeking an additional expedited waiver that is broader in scope than the one approved through June 2027. Awaiting approval.

• Netgear: Conditional approval granted for several "Nighthawk" mesh, mobile and standalone routers. Good through October 1, 2027.

• Nokia: Conditional approval granted for multiple wireless routers and "Beacon" routers. Good through October 31, 2027.

• Sagemcom: Conditional approval granted for a handful of FAST-branded routers (FAST3994, FAST3897, FAST5698, FAST5699 and FAST5999), including a new DOCSIS 4.0 device. Good through December 5, 2027.

• Sercomm: Expedited waiver granted. Good through June 9, 2027.

• Sercomm: Conditional approval for the Air4992 Wi-Fi 7 router. Good through January 10, 2028.

• SpaceX: Starlink routers (models not specified). Good through February 1, 2028.

• USTelecom: Expedited waiver granted. Good through September 23, 2027.

• Vantiva: Conditional approval granted for the CWA438TX, DOCSIS 3.1+ modem with VoIP support. Good through January 8, 2028.

• Vantiva: Filed petition for expedited waiver on July 29, 2026. Petition is pending.

• Vantiva: Filed petition for an expedited waiver for the BGW620 gateway for deployment by AT&T on August 17, 2026. Petition is pending.

• Vantiva: Filed additional petition for expedited waiver on August 17, 2026, specific to the BGW620 gateway for deployment by AT&T. Petition is pending.

• Verizon: Expedited waiver granted. Good through June 26, 2027.

• Vivid-Hosting: Conditional approval granted for company's entire product class of routers including its VH-109 (V1) and VH-109 (V2) robot radio routers. Good through March 28, 2028.

• WNC: Expedited waiver granted. Good through September 16, 2027.

• WNC: Conditional approval granted for the LVR5A, LVM9 and LV85C Wi-Fi router models. Good through February 21, 2028.

• Zyxel Communications: Conditional approval granted for the EE4210-00, EE6610-00 and 5GNR (NR5331) routers. Good through February 3, 2028.