FCC adds foreign robots, inverters to Covered List
The action extends the FCC's national security authority from blocking named suppliers to barring entire equipment categories, any foreign-made mobile robot or connected inverter, regardless of manufacturer.
TL;DR
The FCC added foreign-made mobile robots and connected power inverters to its Covered List on Tuesday, blocking new models from receiving the equipment authorization required to enter the U.S. market. The prohibition applies to products manufactured in any foreign country, it isn't limited to specific firms or nations. An interagency body convened by the White House issued the underlying national security findings, though the FCC didn't identify which agencies participated. Previously authorized devices can still be imported and sold, and federal agencies face no purchasing restrictions.
The Federal Communications Commission added foreign-made mobile robots and connected power inverters to its Covered List on Tuesday, blocking new models from receiving the FCC equipment authorization required to enter the U.S. market. The prohibition applies to products manufactured in any foreign country, it isn't limited to specific firms or nations. An interagency body convened by the White House issued the underlying national security findings; the FCC didn't identify which agencies participated.
The move continues a pattern that has been building since the Covered List's creation under the 2019 Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act. What began as a mechanism to block federal funds from going to equipment made by Huawei, ZTE, and a handful of other named Chinese companies has expanded in both scope and logic. The FCC previously added foreign-made drones, drone components, and consumer routers to the list. The latest additions extend the list's reach into operational technology and grid-connected devices (mobile robots that operate in physical environments and power inverters that connect to the electric grid) well outside telecom's traditional boundaries.
The national security determinations turn on the networked capabilities built into both device categories. For inverters, the finding warned that remote connections could be exploited to disable equipment, exfiltrate data, conduct surveillance, or launch cyberattacks as inverter-based resources multiply across the U.S. electric grid. The robot determination cited risks from networked capabilities that could allow manipulation of both collected data and physical operation. An FCC official who briefed reporters on background described the remote connectivity as creating inherent security vulnerabilities.
Manufacturers can seek exemptions through conditional approval (DOD assesses whether advanced robotic devices pose an unacceptable risk, and either DOD or DHS can make that call for power inverters) but the FCC disclosed no timeline or specific criteria for those reviews. Existing authorized devices can still be imported, marketed, and sold; federal agencies face no restriction on purchasing or operating covered equipment.
Published ·Deep Fathom