FCC grants cable operators one-year waiver for foreign-made broadband routers

The waiver provides critical relief for cable operators facing an imminent hardware crunch. By allowing minor component swaps without full recertification, ISPs can maintain subscriber growth and equipment leasing programs despite global semiconductor shortages prioritized for AI. This action matches a precedent set for AT&T, signaling a pragmatic regulatory shift that balances national security mandates with the operational realities of the broadband market. For the broader ecosystem, it highlights the vulnerability of the video delivery stack to geopolitical trade restrictions. Operators should monitor the June 2027 expiration date as a hard deadline for transitioning to fully onshored or cleared hardware pipelines.

The FCC’s recent order is a response to the March 23, 2026, expansion of the 'Covered List' which effectively banned all new consumer-grade routers produced in foreign countries due to cybersecurity concerns. Per Broadband Breakfast (June 2026), this ban was primarily motivated by state-sponsored cyber campaigns like 'Volt Typhoon' and 'Salt Typhoon' which targeted American critical infrastructure. The NCTA argued that without these waivers, the burgeoning demand for AI infrastructure would drain the global supply of memory and substrate materials, leaving router manufacturers unable to fulfill orders for existing, approved designs.

This cable industry relief follows a near-identical waiver granted to AT&T on May 15, 2026. According to PCMag (May 2026), AT&T cautioned regulators that standard hardware certification rules—which prohibit swapping even minor components in radiofrequency devices—would lead to a total manufacturing halt for previously approved residential gateways. While software and firmware updates for covered routers are currently permitted until January 1, 2029, the FCC has maintained strict prohibitions on any hardware improvements that enhance device performance or swap domestic parts for foreign ones.

Broadband hardware suppliers are currently navigating a bifurcated market where only a handful of vendors have secured 'Conditional Approval' from the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of War. Per Light Reading (June 2026), vendors such as Sagemcom have recently received clearance for specific DOCSIS 4.0 and 3.1+ models, but the majority of the market remains reliant on these temporary waivers. Analyst reports from Dell’Oro Group (December 2025) suggest that while infrastructure spending is rebounding, the transition to onshored manufacturing remains a multi-year effort that will continue to strain operator capital expenditures through late 2027.