The Federal Communications Commission has granted Netgear the first conditional approval as a trusted consumer router company under the US government's sweeping ban on foreign-made routers. The decision, made three weeks after the FCC announced it would no longer approve such devices unless deemed safe by military departments, allows Netgear’s Nighthawk and Orbi routers, along with its cable gateways and modems, to be sold in the US until October 2027.

Netgear CEO CJ Prober stated that this recognition aims to assure consumers their home networks meet rigorous standards. However, the process for obtaining approval remains opaque; neither the FCC nor Netgear revealed the justification or manufacturing plan submitted by the company.

The Trump administration has the authority to block security patches and other software updates on exempted routers. Previously approved routers received a waiver until March 2027, but this could change after that date.

While Adtran, which mainly serves large businesses, also received an exemption for its service delivery gateways, it is unclear why Netgear was chosen over competitors. The decision leaves many questions unanswered and perhaps just as many jokes in the air.