Who Makes What, and Where with the US ISP CPE Supply Chain

US ISP CPE SUPPLY CHAIN - SENKI Skip to content Who Makes What, and Where with the US ISP CPE Supply Chain Version 2.0 | March 24, 2026 senki.org | [email protected] This research tool was curated from detailed questions by a +40-year Internet engineer, large network architect, and cybersecurity specialist. The questions were used to build out logic flows in multiple LLMs to gather insights into the potential impact of the March 2026 US FCC CPE guidelines. I’ve included a slide deck that summarizes this research tool. It is located below or through this link: The_2026_Broadband_Chokepoint.pdf The vast majority of residential broadband equipment deployed by America’s top 20 ISPs is designed by a handful of Taiwanese and European ODMs and assembled predominantly in China — though that is changing fast. Roughly a dozen contract manufacturers, led by Vantiva (formerly Technicolor), Sercomm, Arcadyan, Hitron, and Askey, produce virtually every gateway modem and router provisioned to U.S. homes. Nearly all of these devices run on Broadcom or Qualcomm chipsets fabricated at TSMC in Taiwan , creating a concentrated geopolitical chokepoint at the silicon level. Post-2018 Section 301 tariffs have triggered a measurable manufacturing migration toward Vietnam, Mexico, and India, but China remains the single largest assembly origin for U.S.-bound CPE as of early 2026. This report was last updated March 24, 2026 — the same week a White House National Security Determination (NSD) dated March 20, 2026, triggered an FCC ruling adding all foreign-produced consumer-grade routers to the Covered List. The regulatory landscape for CPE procurement has fundamentally changed. See the “Regulatory Environment” section. National Security Determination on the Threat Posed by Routers Produced by Foreign Countries March 20, 2026 OFFICE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY ANNOUNCES WAIVER OF PROHIBITIONS ON CERTAIN CLASS I PERMISSIVE CHANGES TO COVERED ROUTERS ET Docket No. 21-232 The Big Five ISPs Account for Most U.S. Broadband CPE Volume The five largest providers — Comcast, Charter, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile — collectively serve over 85 million broadband connections and drive the bulk of CPE procurement. Comcast / Xfinity (~32M subscribers) Comcast ISP-brands all gateways as “Xfinity” and multi-sources across ODMs for supply-chain resilience. Device Model OEM/ODM Chipset Country of Mfg XB10 (Wi-Fi 7, DOCSIS 4.0) CGM601TCOM / SG417DBCT Vantiva; Sercomm Broadcom BCM33941UD (D4.0) China (Vantiva); Taiwan/China (Sercomm) XB8 (Wi-Fi 6E, D3.1) CGM4981COM Vantiva Broadcom D3.1 China (Vantiva) XB7 (Wi-Fi 6, D3.1) CGM4331COM / TG4482A Vantiva; CommScope/Arris Broadcom (Vantiva); Intel Puma (CommScope) China XB6 (Wi-Fi 5, D3.1, legacy) CGM4140COM / TG3482G Vantiva; CommScope/Arris Broadcom BCM3390 China Comcast’s newest XB10 is the first consumer DOCSIS 4.0 gateway in the U.S., powered by Broadcom’s unified FDX/ESD chip. Sercomm’s entry as a second-source XB10 supplier marks a diversification away from Vantiva dominance. Charter / Spectrum (~30M subscribers) Spectrum uniquely separates modem and router, offering free DOCSIS modems and optional $5/month routers, multi-sourcing across four to five ODMs simultaneously. Category Models OEM/ODMs Notes DOCSIS 3.1 modems EN2251, ES2251, ET2251, EU2251 Hitron, Sercomm, Vantiva, Ubee Free to subscribers; all Broadcom-based Wi-Fi 7 router SBE1V1K Askey (ASUS subsidiary) Tri-band, 10GbE, Qualcomm Wi-Fi 7 silicon Wi-Fi 6E routers SAX2V1S, SAX2V1R Sagemcom, Sercomm Tri-band with 6 GHz Wi-Fi 6 routers SAX1V1K/S/R Askey, Sagemcom, Sercomm Dual-band 10G EPON ONTs (fiber) SONUV1H, SONUV1S, SONUV1N Humax, Sagemcom, Hitron For Spectrum fiber footprint Spectrum’s naming convention encodes the manufacturer: suffix K = Askey, S = Sagemcom, R = Sercomm, A = Arris/CommScope, H = Humax, N = Hitron. AT&T (~14M subscribers) Device Model OEM/ODM Chipset Country of Mfg BGW320-500 (fiber, Wi-Fi 6) BGW320-500 Humax (South Korea) Broadcom South Korea / China (Weihai) BGW320-505 (fiber, Wi-Fi 6) BGW320-505 Nokia Broadcom India (Chennai) or China BGW210-700 (fiber/DSL, Wi-Fi 5) BGW210-700 CommScope/Arris Broadcom China (via Pegatron) Internet Air hub (5G FWA, Wi-Fi 6) CGW450-400 Wistron NeWeb (Taiwan) Qualcomm 5G Taiwan / China AT&T’s fiber gateway strategy is notable for sourcing from Humax (Korea) and Nokia (India/Finland), two manufacturers with significant non-China production capacity. Verizon (Fios + 5G Home, ~10M subscribers) Device Model OEM/ODM Notes Fios Router (Wi-Fi 6E) CR1000A Wistron NeWeb (Taiwan) 10GbE LAN, current flagship Fios Router (Wi-Fi 6E) CR1000B Arcadyan (Taiwan) Identical specs, alternate source Fios Router (Wi-Fi 6) G3100 Arcadyan Tri-band, MoCA 2.5 5G Home Gateway ASK-NCQ1338 Askey (Taiwan/ASUS) Qualcomm X55 5G, sub-6/mmWave 5G Home Gateway ARC-XCI55AX Arcadyan eSIM, newer variant Fios Quantum (legacy) G1100 Actiontec Wi-Fi 5, still in field T-Mobile Home Internet (~6M subscribers) T-Mobile’s rapid fixed-wireless growth has made it a major CPE buyer. All gateways are Qualcomm or MediaTek-powered. Device Model OEM/ODM Chipset Country of Mfg 5G Gateway Gen 5 (Wi-Fi 7) TMOG5AR Arcadyan Qualcomm 5G Vietnam (Arcadyan Vinh Phuc) or China (Kunshan) 5G Gateway Gen 4 (Wi-Fi 6) TMOG4AR Arcadyan MediaTek T750 Vietnam / China 5G Gateway Gen 4 (Wi-Fi 6) TMOG4SE Sercomm 5G NR + LTE Taiwan / China Sagemcom FAST 5688W (Wi-Fi 6) FAST 5688W Sagemcom 5G NR Tunisia / China Nokia 5G21 (Wi-Fi 6) 5G21 Nokia 5G NR India (Chennai) / China Arcadyan KVD21 (Wi-Fi 6) KVD21 Arcadyan MediaTek T750 China / Vietnam Mid-Tier ISPs Rely on a Similar Cast of ODMs ISPs ranked roughly 6th through 10th collectively serve ~15 million connections and show the same manufacturer concentration. Cox Communications (~5.5M subscribers) Cox’s “Panoramic WiFi” line is sourced entirely from Vantiva/CommScope: Device Model OEM Wi-Fi Panoramic WiFi 8 CGM4981COX Vantiva Wi-Fi 6E Panoramic WiFi 7 CGM4331COX / TG4882 Vantiva / CommScope Wi-Fi 6 Panoramic WiFi 6 (legacy) CGM4141COX Vantiva Wi-Fi 5 Lumen / CenturyLink / Quantum Fiber (~4M subscribers) CenturyLink’s fiber brand “Quantum Fiber” has standardized on the Calix GigaSpire platform, while DSL subscribers receive Zyxel or Greenwave/Axon gateways (MitraStar-manufactured, Wuxi, China or Taiwan). Technology Key Models OEM Fiber (SmartNID) C5500XK, C6500XK, Q1000K Calix (designed in San Jose, CA; assembled in Asia via contract mfg) Fiber ONT Calix 716GE-I R2, 803G Calix; also Adtran DSL Greenwave C4000BG, Zyxel C4000LG/LZ Zyxel / MitraStar (Wuxi, China; Hsinchu, Taiwan) Frontier Communications (~3.5M subscribers) Frontier’s pivot to fiber brought a striking CPE decision: Amazon eero routers as the standard customer device, paired with Nokia fiber ONTs. Device OEM Notes eero Max 7 (Wi-Fi 7) eero / Amazon Current flagship for all fiber tiers eero Pro 6E, Pro 6 eero / Amazon Deployed for various speed tiers Nokia G-010G-A/T (GPON ONT) Nokia Standard indoor bridge ONT Nokia XS-2426G-B (XGS-PON) Nokia Multi-gig ONT for 2+ Gbps tiers Note on eero manufacturing: Amazon’s eero devices are manufactured in China and Vietnam. The NSD’s broad definition of “production” — encompassing design and development in addition to assembly — means eero devices, whose hardware is designed in the United States but assembled overseas, will require Conditional Approval evaluation under the new FCC framework. Mediacom (~1.4M) and Windstream/Kinetic (~1.1M subscribers) Mediacom is notably Hitron-dominant, including the first U.S. DOCSIS 4.0 field trial device (Hitron CODA-60V). Windstream deploys a multi-vendor strategy: Actiontec for DSL, Nokia Beacon 6 for fiber, and Sagemcom FAST F5380 as a universal DSL/fiber gateway. Smaller ISPs and the Calix Effect Among ISPs ranked 11th through 20th, Calix GigaSpire is the de facto fiber CPE platform. The notable exception is Altice/Optimum (~4.5M subscribers) using Ubee gateways — Ubee is a Foxconn Industrial Internet subsidiary, making Optimum’s entire CPE fleet Foxconn-manufactured in China. ISP Primary CPE OEM/ODM Mfg Origin Altice / Optimum (~4.5M) Gateway 6 (UBC1338AA92) Ubee / Foxconn China Google Fiber (~2M+) Multi-Gig Router GFRG300 Vantiva/Technicolor Vietnam / China Consolidated / Fidium GigaSpire BLAST u6.2 (GS4227E) Calix Asia (contract mfg) Brightspeed Calix u6/u6t (fiber); Zyxel C4000 (DSL) Calix; Zyxel/MitraStar Asia Astound Broadband Hitron CODA series; eero mesh Hitron; Amazon/eero China (Hitron Suzhou) WOW! Calix GigaCenter 854G-1 (fiber); Technicolor (cable) Calix; Vantiva Asia Breezeline Hitron gateways Hitron China (Suzhou) / Vietnam TDS Telecom Calix/Adtran/Nokia ONTs Multiple Various Sparklight / Cable One Standard DOCSIS modems; eero (fiber) CommScope; Amazon/eero China / various Where the Devices Are Actually Built China remains the largest single production origin, but Vietnam is the fastest-growing alternative. Manufacturer HQ Primary Assembly Locations Key Shift Vantiva (fka Technicolor) Paris, France China (primary); Vietnam, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, India “Smart Lines” multi-site flexibility; Vietnam growing CommScope/Arris Hickory, NC China (via Pegatron in Shanghai/Kunshan); Mexico (Juárez, Reynosa) Sold CPE division to Vantiva (Jan 2024); Pegatron is primary EMS Arcadyan Hsinchu, Taiwan China (Kunshan); Vietnam (Vinh Phuc) — rapidly expanding Second Vietnam factory built; Vietnam is now growth hub Sercomm Taipei, Taiwan Taiwan; China; Mexico (Tijuana, opened July 2023); Philippines; India Tijuana plant targets North American market Hitron Hsinchu, Taiwan China (Suzhou, primary); Vietnam (Haiphong, since 2020); Taiwan Vietnam facility is clear tariff-mitigation move Askey (ASUS sub.) New Taipei, Taiwan China (Suzhou/Wujiang, 300K m² campus); Taiwan (Taoyuan); Vietnam (recent) Vietnam added recently Sagemcom Paris, France Tunisia (Ben Arous) — primary CPE plant; China (Shenzhen); France Tunisia is a non-China, non-tariffed production base Humax Seongnam, South Korea South Korea (Yongin); China (Weihai, Shandong); Poland; India; Thailand Korean and Chinese dual-sourcing Calix San Jose, CA Outsourced to Asian contract manufacturers (Taiwan and China likely) Fabless/assembly-less; relies on undisclosed ODMs Nokia (CPE div.) Espoo, Finland India (Chennai — 7M+ units); China; USA (Kenosha, WI — new) Wisconsin plant for BEAD-eligible fiber equipment Ubee / Foxconn Taiwan / China China (Foxconn facilities) Exclusive Altice/Optimum supplier Zyxel / MitraStar Hsinchu, Taiwan China (Wuxi, via MitraStar); Taiwan Multi-location manufacturing claimed China (Suzhou, Kunshan, Wuxi, Shenzhen, Weihai) is the gravitational center of CPE assembly, with Vietnam (Vinh Phuc, Haiphong) as the primary alternative. Tunisia (Sagemcom), South Korea (Humax), and Mexico (Sercomm, CommScope) serve as secondary non-China options. Only Nokia has opened a U.S. CPE-relevant production facility, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Chipsets Trace Back to TSMC in Taiwan Three companies design virtually all U.S. broadband CPE chips; one foundry fabricates most of them. DOCSIS chipsets are a Broadcom near-monopoly. 5G fixed-wireless chipsets are Qualcomm’s domain. Wi-Fi chipsets split between Broadcom, Qualcomm, and MediaTek. All are fabricated at TSMC. Chipset Category Primary Vendor(s) Foundry Node DOCSIS 3.1 Broadcom (BCM3390/3392) TSMC 28nm DOCSIS 4.0 Broadcom (BCM33941UD); MaxLinear (Puma 8) TSMC 6–7nm (Broadcom); ~12–16nm (MaxLinear) 5G FWA modem Qualcomm (X55/X62/X65) TSMC 4–7nm Wi-Fi 6/6E/7 Broadcom, Qualcomm, MediaTek TSMC 6–16nm DSL/xDSL MaxLinear (Lantiq heritage); Broadcom TSMC / GlobalFoundries 28nm+ A disruption at TSMC would halt production of every new broadband gateway in the United States, regardless of where final assembly occurs. Tariffs Are Reshaping the Map, but Slowly Section 301 tariffs (25% on most Chinese-origin networking equipment) have been the primary driver of manufacturing shifts since 2018. Arcadyan, Hitron, Sercomm, and Vantiva have all diversified toward Vietnam, Mexico, and other locations. However, China’s mature ecosystem and billions in sunk investment slow the transition. For BEAD-funded projects, Build America Buy America (BABA) requirements apply to fiber infrastructure but consumer CPE (routers, gateways) is explicitly waived — meaning BEAD will not meaningfully change CPE manufacturing geography. Regulatory Environment: A Fundamental Shift in March 2026 ⚠ BREAKING — March 23, 2026 The FCC has added all consumer-grade routers produced in foreign countries to its Covered List, effective immediately for new device models. This follows a White House National Security Determination (NSD) dated March 20, 2026. The implications for every ISP’s CPE procurement pipeline are immediate and severe. The National Security Determination (NSD) On March 20, 2026, a White House-convened executive branch interagency body — exercising authority under 47 U.S.C. § 1601(c)(1) — issued a formal determination that consumer-grade routers produced in any foreign country pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of U.S. persons. The NSD rests on two primary findings: Foreign-produced routers “introduce a supply chain vulnerability that could disrupt the U.S. economy, critical infrastructure, and national defense.” Foreign-produced routers establish “a severe cybersecurity risk that could be leveraged to immediately and severely disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure and directly harm U.S. persons.” Critically, the NSD defines production to encompass any major stage of the process through which the device is made, including manufacturing, assembly, design, and development. This is broader than prior trade or tariff frameworks and means that a router designed in the United States but assembled overseas remains subject to the determination. The NSD explicitly links the decision to China’s Volt Typhoon, Flax Typhoon, and Salt Typhoon cyberattack campaigns, all of which leveraged compromised foreign-produced routers to gain access to U.S. critical infrastructure. It cites the September 2025 CISA joint advisory AA25-239A, which documented PRC APT actors modifying router configurations for lateral movement and using virtualized containers on network devices to evade detection. The NSD further references the October 2024 Microsoft Storm-0940 disclosure, in which Microsoft documented a Chinese APT using password-spray attacks via compromised foreign-produced routers to target government agencies, NGOs, think tanks, law firms, energy companies, IT providers, and defense industrial base entities across North America and Europe. The policy foundation is the 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS, November 2025), which states: “the United States must never be dependent on any outside power for core components — from raw materials to parts to finished products — necessary to the nation’s defense or economy.” FCC Covered List Action (March 23, 2026) The FCC updated its Covered List to include all consumer-grade routers produced in foreign countries. Operational effects: Conditional Approval Pathway The NSD establishes a Conditional Approval mechanism (Annex A) allowing foreign-producing entities to apply for conditional authorization to continue receiving FCC equipment approval for new models, provided they commit to a plan for shifting manufacturing to the United States. This is as much an industrial policy instrument as a security measure. TP-Link as the Accelerant Since late 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice has been conducting a criminal antitrust investigation into TP-Link Systems Inc., which controls approximately 65% of the U.S. home and small-business router market. The DOJ probe examines whether TP-Link engaged in predatory pricing and whether its ties to China present a national security risk. The Department of Commerce is conducting a parallel national security review. These investigations established the political scaffolding for a broader determination covering all foreign-produced consumer routers. What This Means for ISP CPE Procurement Every ISP now faces the same fundamental constraint: no new foreign-produced consumer router model can receive FCC authorization. Key implications: Conclusion The U.S. residential broadband CPE ecosystem is a study in hidden concentration — one that has now collided with explicit national security policy. Fewer than 15 ODMs — predominantly headquartered in Taiwan and France — produce equipment for all 20 major ISPs. At the silicon level, the concentration is even tighter: Broadcom and TSMC together form an irreplaceable link in the DOCSIS cable gateway chain, while Qualcomm and TSMC do the same for fixed wireless. The devices American consumers know as “Xfinity gateways” or “Spectrum routers” or “T-Mobile home internet boxes” are overwhelmingly designed in Taiwan, powered by chips fabricated in Taiwan, and assembled in China — a supply chain reality that tariff policy was already bending but had not broken. As of March 24, 2026, the policy environment has fundamentally shifted. The White House NSD and the subsequent FCC Covered List action represent the most significant government intervention in the consumer CPE supply chain in the history of U.S. broadband. The near-term result is a frozen market for new foreign-produced router models. The medium-term result — if Conditional Approval requirements mandate actual U.S. domestic production — would be a structural transformation of the ODM ecosystem with no clear precedent in the electronics industry. The long-term supply chain question is no longer just about tariffs. It is about whether the United States can build or attract a domestic router manufacturing capability fast enough to serve an 85-million-subscriber broadband market that currently imports nearly 100% of its CPE. The_2026_Broadband_Chokepoint Download senki.org | [email protected] | Operator’s Security Toolkit Related Categories