Amazon Leo Routers Exempt from FCC Ban
Router manufacturer TP-Link met with the agency about its own exemption Wednesday.
WASHINGTON, April 24, 2026 – Federal regulators exempted an Amazon subsidiary from its ban on foreign-made Wi-Fi routers Wednesday.
The subsidiary, Eero, is the third company to receive the designation, along with Adtran and major router manufacturer Netgear. The exemption applies to routers made for Amazon Leo, the e-commerce giant’s attempt to compete with SpaceX for the satellite broadband market.
The Federal Communications Commission instituted the ban in March, citing cybersecurity concerns. It only applies to future models of routers not already cleared by the agency for sale in the U.S., but still created some uncertainty as virtually all consumer Wi-Fi routers are made overseas.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Defense Department is handling exemption applications, which have to include “a detailed, time-bound plan to establish or expand manufacturing in the United States for the router for which the applicant is seeking Conditional Approval” in order to qualify.
The FCC announced Wednesday that since DOD had cleared Eero, the agency would exempt certain Eero routers from the ban. The agency didn’t provide other information on the company’s application or approval other than that DOD had determined “such devices do not pose risks to U.S. national security.”
Amazon Leo is behind schedule on launching its LEO constellation – it’s asked the FCC to waive an interim deadline approaching this summer – but is approved for more than $300 million in federal broadband funding to serve rural areas. While the company will have years to connect the locations it won, exemptions from the router ban only last 18 months, so it may need to seek an extension.
SpaceX won more than twice Amazon’s funding, but is serving a similar number of locations, 476,000 to Amazon’s 420,000. PCMag reported this week that some of SpaceX’s current Starlink routers are made in Vietnam. Router models already for sale in the U.S. aren’t affected by the ban and can still be imported, but future models made overseas will require the FCC exemption.
TP-Link
Despite banning routers manufactured anywhere outside the U.S., the FCC cited Chinese hackers as its prime cybersecurity concern. Lawmakers have called for scrutiny of TP-Link, a major router manufacturer, in the past over its ties to China.
The company met with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s top national security advisor on Wednesday to preview its forthcoming exemption application with DHS and DOD.
“TP-Link is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to bring manufacturing and research and development of its consumer routers to the U.S., in alignment with the FCC’s policy goals,” the company wrote. “Conditional Approval will enable TP-Link to complete those investments.
TP-Link emphasized it was spun off from a Chinese parent company and made its current headquarters in Irvine, Calif.
The company said it represented 20 percent of all U.S. consumer router sales.
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