Cable lobby warns of chaos if FCC doesn’t relax ban on foreign routers

有线电视行业游说团体警告：若 FCC 不放宽外国路由器禁令，恐引发混乱

The cable industry’s primary lobby group is seeking a waiver of the Federal Communications Commission ban on foreign routers, warning of potential chaos if cable Internet service providers can’t change some of the components in routers they offer to home broadband users. 有线电视行业的主要游说团体正在寻求豁免美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）对外国路由器的禁令。他们警告称，如果有线互联网服务提供商无法更换其向家庭宽带用户提供的路由器中的某些组件，可能会引发混乱。

In March, the FCC added all consumer-grade routers made at least partly outside the US to its Covered List, which imposes restrictions on devices deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to national security. The change affected virtually all consumer routers, preventing new or changed models from being imported into or sold in the US. 今年 3 月，FCC 将所有至少部分在美国境外制造的消费级路由器列入了其“受限清单”（Covered List），该清单对被认为对国家安全构成不可接受风险的设备实施限制。这一变动影响了几乎所有的消费级路由器，导致新的或经过改动的型号无法进口到美国或在美国销售。

In a petition filed on Tuesday, NCTA-The Internet & Television Association asked the FCC to grant an expedited waiver allowing its members’ suppliers to “substitute substrate materials and memory modules in the previously certified routers that are now on the Covered List” as long as the changes “are otherwise consistent” with FCC regulations. These changes would not alter the functionality of previously authorized devices and would not swap US-produced components for foreign-produced ones, the NCTA said. 在周二提交的一份请愿书中，美国互联网与电视协会（NCTA）请求 FCC 授予一项快速豁免权，允许其成员的供应商“在目前处于受限清单中、且此前已获得认证的路由器中，替换基板材料和内存模块”，前提是这些变更“在其他方面符合”FCC 的规定。NCTA 表示，这些变更不会改变此前已获授权设备的功能，也不会用外国制造的组件替换美国制造的组件。

The component changes are apparently needed to continue production of routers that were approved by the FCC before the Covered List update. “NCTA requests an expedited grant of this waiver to enable its members and their suppliers to navigate unavoidable supply chain shortages and prevent disruptions in the availability of broadband for NCTA members’ customers, while still fulfilling the rules’ national security and public safety purpose,” the NCTA said. It argued that “good cause exists to prevent disruptions to millions of Americans’ broadband services.” 这些组件变更显然是为了维持那些在“受限清单”更新前已获 FCC 批准的路由器的生产。NCTA 表示：“NCTA 请求快速批准此项豁免，以使其成员及其供应商能够应对不可避免的供应链短缺，防止 NCTA 成员客户的宽带服务中断，同时仍能满足规则在国家安全和公共安全方面的目的。”该协会辩称，“为了防止数百万美国人的宽带服务中断，存在充分的理由。”

Memory and substrate shortages

内存与基板短缺

The FCC last month granted a one-year waiver to AT&T’s suppliers, similar to the waiver requested by the NCTA for all cable broadband companies. “NCTA’s suppliers are similarly situated” to AT&T’s, the cable lobby group’s filing said. While many Internet users buy their own Wi-Fi routers from the vendor of their choice, it’s common for Internet subscribers to use the hardware leased or sold by their broadband provider. 上个月，FCC 向 AT&T 的供应商授予了一项为期一年的豁免，这与 NCTA 为所有有线宽带公司请求的豁免类似。该游说团体的文件中写道：“NCTA 供应商的情况与 AT&T 的供应商类似。”虽然许多互联网用户会自行购买心仪品牌的 Wi-Fi 路由器，但互联网订阅用户使用宽带提供商租赁或销售的硬件也是常态。

The NCTA said that because all consumer-grade routers are now on the FCC’s Covered List, certain “changes are prohibited by the FCC’s rules.” While the FCC is trying to force companies to move manufacturing to the US, the NCTA said the whole industry is constrained by shortages: Like AT&T, NCTA members are encouraging their suppliers to quickly pursue required onshoring, and, in the meantime, seek Conditional Approvals for Covered Routers as necessary. NCTA 表示，由于所有消费级路由器现在都在 FCC 的“受限清单”上，某些“变更被 FCC 的规则所禁止”。虽然 FCC 正试图迫使企业将制造业转移到美国，但 NCTA 指出，整个行业都受到短缺问题的制约：与 AT&T 一样，NCTA 成员正在鼓励其供应商迅速推进必要的本土化生产，同时在必要时为受限路由器寻求“有条件批准”。

However, unavoidable supply chain shortages in critical substrate material and memory modules (including both volatile and nonvolatile memory) significantly constrain the industry. AT&T’s suppliers are not unique; the same impediments they are experiencing impose inevitable limitations on NCTA’s suppliers. Accordingly, NCTA seeks the same relief on behalf of its suppliers. Given the immediacy of these issues and the concrete harms that would result from disruptions to the availability of broadband to large swaths of US consumers and businesses, the grant of this Petition is warranted. 然而，关键基板材料和内存模块（包括易失性和非易失性内存）不可避免的供应链短缺严重制约了该行业。AT&T 的供应商并非个例；他们所经历的相同障碍也给 NCTA 的供应商带来了不可避免的限制。因此，NCTA 代表其供应商寻求同样的救济。鉴于这些问题的紧迫性，以及宽带服务中断将对广大美国消费者和企业造成的具体损害，批准此项请愿是合理的。

The memory shortage is a well-known problem, and the NCTA said cable firms’ vendors are “facing significant lead-times to find alternatives for memory to use in routers.” The NCTA said its members’ suppliers also “face the repercussions of a global shortage for semiconductor substrates, a critical component for electronic devices.” 内存短缺是一个众所周知的问题，NCTA 表示，有线电视公司的供应商“在寻找路由器内存替代品时面临着漫长的交付周期”。NCTA 还表示，其成员的供应商也“面临着全球半导体基板短缺带来的后果，这是电子设备的关键组件”。

NCTA cites “delays and supply chain constraints”

NCTA 援引“延误与供应链限制”

The NCTA explained that “artificial intelligence is driving unprecedented demands for substrate materials, leading to a growing shortage of the necessary materials for semiconductor manufacturing… Persistent industry-wide substrate shortages have caused delays and supply chain constraints, triggered by increased demand and material shortages.” NCTA 解释称，“人工智能正在推动对基板材料的前所未有的需求，导致半导体制造所需材料的短缺日益严重……持续的行业性基板短缺已经造成了延误和供应链限制，这是由需求增加和材料短缺引发的。”

The FCC last month ruled that existing routers can receive software and firmware updates until at least January 1, 2029. This applies to Class I and Class II “permissive changes,” which are supposed to be minimal compared to Class III changes that face more scrutiny to ensure compliance with FCC rules. AT&T separately received permission for its suppliers to make Class I and Class II hardware changes, the NCTA said. FCC 上个月裁定，现有路由器至少在 2029 年 1 月 1 日之前可以接收软件和固件更新。这适用于 I 类和 II 类“许可变更”，与面临更严格审查以确保符合 FCC 规则的 III 类变更相比，这些变更通常被认为是微小的。NCTA 表示，AT&T 此前已单独获得许可，允许其供应商进行 I 类和 II 类硬件变更。

AT&T’s suppliers may thus “substitute certain substrate components in existing router designs to allow those routers to remain in production,” and “take the steps necessary to swap the memory used in existing designs.” AT&T pointed out in its successful petition that software and firmware changes “are not the only updates necessary to ensure continued functionality of previously approved devices.” But as of now, “Class I and Class II permissive hardware changes remain prohibited for other providers,” the NCTA said. 因此，AT&T 的供应商可以“替换现有路由器设计中的某些基板组件，以使这些路由器能够继续生产”，并“采取必要步骤更换现有设计中使用的内存”。AT&T 在其成功的请愿书中指出，软件和固件变更“并不是确保此前已获批准设备持续发挥功能的唯一必要更新”。但 NCTA 表示，截至目前，“其他提供商仍被禁止进行 I 类和 II 类许可硬件变更”。

FCC router ban adds layer of bureaucracy

FCC 路由器禁令增加了官僚主义负担

Before the FCC added all foreign-made routers to the Covered List, cable companies could make the necessary changes without special permission, the NCTA said: With respect to permissive changes for routers, alternative sources as well as higher density sources such as 64GB eMMC are generally a pin-to-pin and footprint-compatible replacement for a lower-density part, so it can be placed directly onto the existing routers without other changes to device hardware. 在 FCC 将所有外国制造的路由器列入“受限清单”之前，有线电视公司可以在无需特殊许可的情况下进行必要的变更，NCTA 表示：关于路由器的许可变更，替代来源以及更高密度的来源（如 64GB eMMC）通常是低密度部件的引脚对引脚和封装兼容的替代品，因此可以直接放置在现有路由器上，而无需对设备硬件进行其他更改。

Prior to foreign-made routers being added to the Covered List, this change would generally have been classified as a Class I permissive change, as it involves no degradation to device performance and requires no changes to the device or other hardware components. However, NCTA members’ suppliers now cannot pursue these memory changes given the prohibitions of permissive changes for router hardware. 在外国制造的路由器被列入“受限清单”之前，这种变更通常会被归类为 I 类许可变更，因为它不涉及设备性能的下降，也不需要对设备或其他硬件组件进行更改。然而，鉴于目前对路由器硬件许可变更的禁令，NCTA 成员的供应商现在无法进行这些内存变更。