Asus Wins U.S. Approval as TP-Link Routers Remain in Limbo

WASHINGTON — Taiwan-based Asustek Computer Inc. has received a multi-year national security exemption from federal regulators to market and sell its networking hardware in the United States. The approval advances a federal effort to protect domestic communications infrastructure from state-sponsored cyber intrusions.

The Federal Communications Commission said the Department of Defense determined that Asus networking devices do not pose an unacceptable risk to national security. The conditional approval protects the company’s consumer and commercial routers from federal restrictions on foreign-manufactured networking equipment through March 6, 2028.

Asus recently unveiled its Wi-Fi 8 platforms, including the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 gaming router and the ZenWiFi BN12 mesh networking system. Initial units launched in Canada, while the company had conditioned its U.S. rollout, planned for October and beyond, on receiving federal equipment authorizations.

The exemption covers a broad range of products: Asus’s RT series, ROG GT and ROG Strix GS gaming lines, TUF Gaming series, ExpertWiFi commercial line, ZenWiFi mesh platforms, 5G mobile Wi-Fi systems, standalone wireless repeaters, and enterprise access points.

Federal regulators expanded the Covered List in March. Established under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, the registry identifies equipment considered an unacceptable threat to national security. The updated rules restrict authorization of new foreign-produced consumer routers.

Manufacturers that produce equipment overseas cannot receive the equipment authorizations required for legal commercial distribution in the United States unless they obtain explicit conditional approval from the Department of Defense or the Department of Homeland Security. To secure an exemption, hardware vendors must complete a multi-agency vetting process and provide documented commitments to federal authorities to establish or expand manufacturing operations within the United States.

The FCC began imposing the restrictions after intelligence and cybersecurity agencies identified consumer-grade and small-office/home-office (SOHO) routers as primary access points for sophisticated foreign hacking groups. In formal findings, the agency connected vulnerabilities in foreign-produced hardware to major state-aligned cyber campaigns, specifically citing groups tracked by U.S. intelligence as Volt Typhoon, Flax Typhoon, and Salt Typhoon.

Those intrusion sets systematically exploited outdated or vulnerable router firmware to create resilient botnets, conceal illicit network traffic, and retain persistent access near critical infrastructure targets, government entities, and major telecommunications providers. Over the past two years, the Department of Justice and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have conducted multiple court-authorized operations to disrupt botnets built on compromised edge devices.

Asus is the latest member of a small group of network equipment manufacturers to complete the review process successfully. California-based Netgear became the first router vendor to obtain an exemption in April.

Later approvals went to Amazon-owned mesh networking subsidiary Eero, Finnish telecommunications vendor Nokia, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite division, and Taiwanese manufacturer Askey Computer Corp. Asus’s clearance provides a regulatory path for the company to bring its next generation of networking hardware to the American market.

TP-Link Systems Inc. has not received a federal exemption. Originally founded in Shenzhen, China, the company later established dual headquarters in Singapore and Irvine, California, and has faced increasing scrutiny from federal regulators and congressional committees examining the security of Chinese-linked networking hardware.

TP-Link representatives met with FCC officials in April to seek approval. They argued that the company’s U.S.-based entity operates independently and should be assessed as an American business. Federal authorities have not issued a clearance, leaving the U.S. release of TP-Link’s upcoming Archer series of next-generation routers in regulatory limbo before planned autumn launches.

The FCC restriction applies only to new equipment certifications. It does not revoke earlier authorizations, so routers already deployed in homes and businesses, along with current retail inventory, remain legal to operate, sell, and maintain.