4 ms·

This is the same thing they did to drones. It's corruption. It doesn't even make sense from an extreme isolationist point of view, because there's no path to cr

by Miraste 7mo ago

This is the same thing they did to drones. It's corruption. It doesn't even make sense from an extreme isolationist point of view, because there's no path to create domestic manufacturing. I'm guessing the rest of this looks like drones, too: FCC approval is given only to American companies that bribe members of the administration, and they raise prices through the roof. The routers are still manufactured overseas and there's no improvement in security.

gnarlouse 7mo ago
At least that checks "death by hobby drone swarm" off my possible apocalypses list
9cb14c1ec0 7mo ago
There absolutely is a path to domestic manufacturing. It might be long and hard, but it does exist. Source: My company manages logistics for dozens of US manufacturing companies.
- tencentshill 7mo ago
  Then it needs careful consideration and compromise. Ramming through a change is just another signal that they can't get anyone to agree to it.
- cjbgkagh 7mo ago
  In theory but the difficulty in practice is that if you were to invest in local manufacturing you'd have to be sure that someone else won't be given a waver via lobbying / corruption and will then be able to completely undercut you. The current US administration lacks the credibility to give such assurances. Given existing models are exempt you're better of just delaying new models while you wait for a new admin.
  - 9cb14c1ec0 7mo ago
    I don't think it follows that a Democrat administration would reverse this.
    - cjbgkagh 7mo ago
      I'm not sure the democrats could give such assurances either. If domestic manufacturing is 2x as expensive that's a lot of money that could be spent on campaign donations and still break even.
- vjvjvjvjghv 7mo ago
  “Long and hard” is not something the US does anymore. You would be insane to invest here based on the assumption that the current tariffs and regulations will survive any period of time. Even Trump changes his mind every week, probably based on whoever pays most.
groundzeros2015 7mo ago
Why is there no path? Surely it’s possible to do?
- Miraste 7mo ago
  It would take years, maybe decades. We saw the same thing with drones. It's impossible to overstate how much the supply chain for modern electronics depends on China. Everything in a router, from the chips to the resistors to the antennae to the coating on the PCBs, comes from there.If you wanted to build it all in America, even if you had unlimited funding it would take forever. There's no router industry here because there's (mostly) no electronics industry, and to make one you'd need to build all the supply chains and subsidiary industries from scratch.
  - groundzeros2015 7mo ago
    You’re just saying it’s painful and don’t want to do it which is the purpose of the law.
    - Miraste 7mo ago
      I'm saying that if you wanted a fully made-in-America WiFi 8 router, it is impossible, it physically can't happen. The timescale required to spin all of this up is too long, even with perfect funding and organization. I'm also saying that because in reality there is no funding for it, American routers will end up like the US shipbuilding industry, using protectionist policies as an excuse to stay decades behind the times and produce nothing.
      - groundzeros2015 7mo ago
        > it is impossible, it physically can't happen. I don’t think that’s true. > American routers will end up like the US shipbuilding industry, using protectionist policies as an excuse to stay decades behind the times I agree.
        7mo ago
TheOtherHobbes 7mo ago
It's almost as if there's a global push to make Rest of World harder to reach, for everyone. Between "age verification" - ID - laws being rolled out across many countries, rocketing transport costs, ICE at airports, incredible inflation of RAM prices, and now catastrophic restrictions on routers, none of this is making Rest of World easier to access. Let's not forget Russia and Iran both clamped down hard on general Internet access, and Israel and some of the Gulf states have set up aggressive restrictions on live reporting. I think we're heading to a balkanised Internet at the absolute best.

by Miraste 7mo ago

gnarlouse 7mo ago

At least that checks "death by hobby drone swarm" off my possible apocalypses list

9cb14c1ec0 7mo ago

There absolutely is a path to domestic manufacturing. It might be long and hard, but it does exist. Source: My company manages logistics for dozens of US manufacturing companies.

tencentshill 7mo ago
Then it needs careful consideration and compromise. Ramming through a change is just another signal that they can't get anyone to agree to it.
cjbgkagh 7mo ago
In theory but the difficulty in practice is that if you were to invest in local manufacturing you'd have to be sure that someone else won't be given a waver via lobbying / corruption and will then be able to completely undercut you. The current US administration lacks the credibility to give such assurances. Given existing models are exempt you're better of just delaying new models while you wait for a new admin.
- 9cb14c1ec0 7mo ago
  I don't think it follows that a Democrat administration would reverse this.
  - cjbgkagh 7mo ago
    I'm not sure the democrats could give such assurances either. If domestic manufacturing is 2x as expensive that's a lot of money that could be spent on campaign donations and still break even.
vjvjvjvjghv 7mo ago
“Long and hard” is not something the US does anymore. You would be insane to invest here based on the assumption that the current tariffs and regulations will survive any period of time. Even Trump changes his mind every week, probably based on whoever pays most.

groundzeros2015 7mo ago

Why is there no path? Surely it’s possible to do?

Miraste 7mo ago
It would take years, maybe decades. We saw the same thing with drones. It's impossible to overstate how much the supply chain for modern electronics depends on China. Everything in a router, from the chips to the resistors to the antennae to the coating on the PCBs, comes from there.If you wanted to build it all in America, even if you had unlimited funding it would take forever. There's no router industry here because there's (mostly) no electronics industry, and to make one you'd need to build all the supply chains and subsidiary industries from scratch.
- groundzeros2015 7mo ago
  You’re just saying it’s painful and don’t want to do it which is the purpose of the law.
  - Miraste 7mo ago
    I'm saying that if you wanted a fully made-in-America WiFi 8 router, it is impossible, it physically can't happen. The timescale required to spin all of this up is too long, even with perfect funding and organization. I'm also saying that because in reality there is no funding for it, American routers will end up like the US shipbuilding industry, using protectionist policies as an excuse to stay decades behind the times and produce nothing.
    - groundzeros2015 7mo ago
      > it is impossible, it physically can't happen. I don’t think that’s true. > American routers will end up like the US shipbuilding industry, using protectionist policies as an excuse to stay decades behind the times I agree.
      - 7mo ago

TheOtherHobbes 7mo ago

It's almost as if there's a global push to make Rest of World harder to reach, for everyone. Between "age verification" - ID - laws being rolled out across many countries, rocketing transport costs, ICE at airports, incredible inflation of RAM prices, and now catastrophic restrictions on routers, none of this is making Rest of World easier to access. Let's not forget Russia and Iran both clamped down hard on general Internet access, and Israel and some of the Gulf states have set up aggressive restrictions on live reporting. I think we're heading to a balkanised Internet at the absolute best.