--- title: Will the FCC's Ban on Foreign-Made Wi-Fi Routers Drive Up Prices? description: "The FCC ban on some foreign-made Wi-Fi routers isn’t retroactive, but it could lead to shortages or less competition —\_aka higher prices." authors: - name: Liliana Hall role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/ bio: Liliana Hall joined Money in 2025. She is an Austin-based reporter for Money, where she covers a range of topics, including financial news, policy, banking, investing, passive income, financial planning and student loan debt. education: University of Texas at Austin at_money_since: 2025 articles: 134 covers: - Lifestyle - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://x.com/lilihallllllll - https://www.linkedin.com/in/liliana-hall/ editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Lifestyle - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2026-03-30T12:39:03.000Z' section: Lifestyle tags: - News word_count: 579 canonical: https://money.com/wifi-router-prices-fcc-ban/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo illustration of a wifi router with faint money symbols in the background](https://img.money.com/2026/03/News-WiFi-Routers-Expensive.jpg) You probably don’t think much about your Wi-Fi router — until it stops working, that is. But a new government policy could make replacing it more expensive. The Federal Communications Commission has banned the sale of certain foreign-made routers over national security concerns, a move that could limit supply and push prices higher for U.S. consumers. In a [statement](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-420034A1.pdf) Monday, FCC chairman Brendan Carr said the move follows a determination that some routers made in other countries pose an "unacceptable risk,” adding them to the agency’s [Covered List](https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist) of restricted equipment. However, that could be a bigger problem than it sounds because the vast majority of Wi-Fi routers sold in the U.S. aren’t made domestically to begin with. ## Worried about keeping your information safe when using public Wi-Fi? ### Click on your state to find the best Identity Theft Protection and limit the damage. [Protect My Identity](https://money.com/pr/f002cca63c0e?ap_referrer=%2Fwifi-router-prices-fcc-ban%2F) In an email to Money, a spokesperson for TP-Link, one of the largest router manufacturers, said the FCC’s recent actions “appear to affect virtually all new consumer-grade routers,” since nearly every router manufacturer relies on overseas production or global supply chains. TP-Link, for example, is U.S.-based but does its manufacturing in Vietnam. Importantly, the ban isn’t retroactive — meaning you don’t have to go panic-buy a new router today. The FCC’s order doesn’t affect devices people already own or models that have already been approved for sale. Those routers can still be sold and used. However, once that stock is gone, consumers could start to see shortages — and price increases. “This ban virtually affects all routers,” says Greg Guice, chief policy officer at the Vernonburg Group and a former FCC regulatory attorney. The impact may not be immediate but could become noticeable as new devices face delays or reduced competition, he adds. When fewer companies can sell routers in the U.S., consumers have fewer options — and less competition typically gives sellers more room to raise prices. “Where we’ll start to see the pain is probably in the next four to five months,” he says, adding that some devices already in development could be sold at higher price points. “At a time when there is a lot of innovation in the spectrum space, this could really not only hinder pricing but also set us back in terms of giving consumers the innovation that we've been working for years to bring to the market.” Manufacturers aren’t entirely out of options. Companies can seek [exemptions](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-286A1.pdf) for specific models, though doing so requires extensive [disclosures](https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/Guidance-for-Conditional-Approvals-Submissions0326.pdf) — including where router components are made and detailed plans to shift production stateside over the next five years. In practice, that process could delay new products from reaching the market, reinforcing concerns about limited supply and rising prices. Guice says the scope of the policy is unusual compared to past FCC actions, which have typically targeted specific companies — such as Chinese telecom firms like [Huawei and ZTE](https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist) — rather than broad product categories. "There's not a lot of historical precedent for it," he said. For now, you don’t need to rush out and replace your Wi-Fi router — but timing could matter if you’re already considering an upgrade. Ultimately, according to Bryan Reimer, a research scientist at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, U.S. households may end up paying more for routers while those abroad benefit from “lower-cost global supply chains and faster technology refresh cycles.” “Security concerns may drive policy, but consumers bear the economic cost,” he adds. ### Includes VPN & password manager ![View Plans](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/29035/medium_031b14e8-19d0-4ec7-b6f0-04e29d54e75a.png) Our Partner [View Plans](https://money.com/go/2c0332c59269?bidid=4112280830&pmeta=p129-c590-u23759&ptid=670539808&ptoken=656d1e73ff8eb7ce22f817dd2f3794d0) ### Up to $3 million identity theft coverage ![View Plans](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/39939/medium_816cde44-5301-4dd1-928e-e57e6d76a40d.webp) Our Partner [View Plans](https://money.com/go/913a2fcf7f07?bidid=4112280825&pmeta=p129-c590-u23759&ptid=670539808&ptoken=6c1cd56d75e1ad3bcc0bceae131101da) ### Comprehensive 3-bureau monitoring system ![View Plans](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/22930/medium_1cbc8db8-3f08-443a-9212-ffc20f3572c5.png) Our Partner [View Plans](https://money.com/go/871b6efa8a04?bidid=4112280829&pmeta=p129-c590-u23759&ptid=670539808&ptoken=0a993674677a773306586c7dfb154bbd) ### Over 40 years of experience in the field ![View Plans](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/29533/medium_0d1a7abe-469a-4c92-bc75-b14db9a97c71.png) Our Partner [View Plans](https://money.com/go/4a9868eb32b1?bidid=4112280827&pmeta=p129-c590-u23759&ptid=670539808&ptoken=a3054c7db2e11287b84d6c695279066d) ![View Plans](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/39603/medium_19e58401-022f-4bdc-bc08-ac1e419ddcdf.webp) [View Plans](https://money.com/go/3f6d255e10d7?bidid=4112280837&pmeta=p129-c590-u23759&ptid=670539808&ptoken=8ff9e3d8a0edb840fe5888027d6ebc8a) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/29035/medium_031b14e8-19d0-4ec7-b6f0-04e29d54e75a.png) Protect yourself from the threat of Identity Theft with Aura [View Plans](https://money.com/pr/ce5c60e9ca63?ap_referrer=%2Fwifi-router-prices-fcc-ban%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/wifi-router-prices-fcc-ban/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Lifestyle", "item": "https://money.com/lifestyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Will the FCC's Ban on Foreign-Made Wi-Fi Routers Drive Up Prices?" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/wifi-router-prices-fcc-ban/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/wifi-router-prices-fcc-ban/", "name": "Will the FCC's Ban on Foreign-Made Wi-Fi Routers Drive Up Prices?", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2026-03-30T12:39:03.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/wifi-router-prices-fcc-ban/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/wifi-router-prices-fcc-ban/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Will the FCC's Ban on Foreign-Made Wi-Fi Routers Drive Up Prices?", "articleSection": "Lifestyle", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2026/03/News-WiFi-Routers-Expensive.jpg", "width": 1200, "height": 800, "caption": "News-WiFi-Routers-Expensive" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Liliana Hall", "url": "https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/#author", "description": "Liliana Hall joined Money in 2025. 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