The Federal Communications Commission has banned the introduction of new routers produced outside the United States to the market. The decision has triggered unprecedented turmoil across the technology sector. Experts have no doubt that this is a move that could reshape the way digital infrastructure security is approached for years to come, including in Europe and Poland.
The ban applies in practice to virtually all new devices for which any stage of production, from design to assembly, takes place outside the United States. This effectively means that almost every router currently available on the U.S. market falls under the new restrictions. The FCC concluded that such devices may pose an “unacceptable risk” to national security.
“The FCC’s decision reflects a broader problem the industry has been observing for years — routers and edge devices have become some of the most attractive and at the same time least monitored entry points for cyberattacks,” says Sergey Shykevich of Check Point Software Technologies. “This is not about one country or one manufacturer. It is about reducing systemic risk and improving security standards across the entire supply chain,” the expert adds.
Although the regulation does not apply to models that have already been approved for sale, its consequences are far-reaching. Companies may continue selling existing devices, but they cannot introduce new ones without obtaining special approval. As analysts point out, the market has effectively been “frozen,” while manufacturers are now trying to adapt their supply chains to the new requirements.
Global supply chains under scrutiny
The FCC’s decision has exposed the scale of globalization in the production of networking hardware. Even companies widely perceived as American, such as Netgear, manufacture their devices in Asia, including in countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Taiwan. One exception is Starlink, which according to public reporting says it manufactures its newest routers in Texas. This shows how difficult — and perhaps unrealistic — it is to fully decouple the technology industry from global supply chains.
A signal for Europe and Poland?
Although the decision applies directly to the U.S. market, its consequences may be global. Europe, much like the United States, is placing growing emphasis on the security of digital infrastructure and on tighter control over supply chains. In Poland, by the end of 2024, the government had already taken a number of steps aimed at limiting or eliminating Chinese IT equipment from critical infrastructure and public procurement on national security grounds. At the EU level, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in 2022 that companies from third countries cannot seek access to public procurement in the common market on exactly the same terms as contractors from the European Union and countries covered by the GPA framework. This broader context suggests that the FCC move may resonate well beyond the United States.
Security today versus risk tomorrow
The greatest controversy, however, concerns not the ban itself but its implications for users. According to FCC communications, manufacturers will be allowed to provide software updates at least until March 1, 2027. After that date, many devices could be left without security support. This raises serious questions about the logic of the regulation. Routers, which are key components of home and business networks, become easy targets for cybercriminals if they do not receive regular updates. Experts warn that a decision intended to enhance security may, paradoxically, weaken it.
“If we restrict access to security updates, we are in fact making the situation worse, not better,” privacy advocates and digital rights groups argue. In this context, market analysts recommend caution. Buying a new router today could mean that within a year the device will no longer receive security patches. The situation is even more complicated because it is still unclear which companies will be granted exemptions from the ban. More details are expected in the coming months.
