The Federal Communications Commission granted conditional approval for Asus networking hardware to remain on sale in the United States through March 6, 2028, keeping the vendor's upcoming Wi-Fi 8 roadmap on schedule while major competitors face regulatory exclusion.
Tom's Hardware reported that the FCC issued the conditional clearance after determining the Taiwanese manufacturer satisfied commission security reviews. According to the regulatory notice, the commission concluded that the hardware does not pose a risk to national security. The waiver extends 18 months from issuance and applies across the company's entire wireless portfolio, spanning consumer RT routers, ROG GT and ROG Strix GS gaming models, TUF Gaming units, ExpertWiFi business gateways, ZenWiFi mesh kits, 5G mobile hot spots, and commercial access points.
The ruling establishes a stark divide across the domestic retail market. Asus joins Netgear and Amazon-owned Eero on the commission's conditional approval roster. However, TP-Link, which holds the largest retail volume share in the U.S. router market, has not received FCC clearance. Federal officials continue to withhold approval over concerns regarding the company's origins in China, despite TP-Link reorganizing its corporate operations under California-based TP-Link Systems Inc. That impasse leaves TP-Link unable to commit to launch windows for its newly announced Wi-Fi 8 Ultra routers in the American market.
Unimpeded regulatory status gives Asus a clear path forward as the industry prepares for the 802.11bn transition. Asus demonstrated its ROG NeoCore Wi-Fi 8 concept at CES before officially unveiling its first commercial Wi-Fi 8 router, the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro, in June. Asus claims the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro delivers up to double the real-world throughput of top-tier Wi-Fi 7 flagships, targeting heavy multi-gigabit workloads and congested client environments.
With retail certification secured through early 2028, Asus is positioned to capture early adopter share in the high-end networking market while its closest volume competitor remains sidelined from store shelves.
