Import Bans on Routers and Drones Revised

The Federal Communications Commission has issued a public notice narrowing bans on new imports of drones and routers produced in foreign countries.

The FCC maintains a list of equipment and services that have been determined to pose an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security or the security and safety of U.S. persons (Covered List). In recent months the FCC has added to this list all uncrewed aircraft systems (drones) and UAS critical components, and all consumer-grade routers, produced in foreign countries. These actions effectively prohibit new such goods from being imported for use or sale in the U.S. but do not prohibit the import, sale, or use of any existing drone or router models previously authorized by the FCC.

On April 14 the FCC announced that it has granted conditional approvals for one drone (through Dec. 31, 2026) and several routers, cable gateways, and cable modems (through Oct. 1, 2027), thus exempting them from the Covered List and the associated import restrictions. The FCC suggested that these devices have been found to not pose unacceptable risks to national security but provided no further explanation.