The FCC is cracking down on DJI tech that dodged the foreign drone ban

Eight companies are under investigation, and the FCC plans to deauthorize one testing lab in China, too.

Last year, we told you about Xtra , the company that lets DJI sneak its popular cameras into the US, and Skyrover, a brand seemingly selling DJI drones in disguise . They’re just two of the many firms DJI is suspected of starting to skirt the United States’ foreign drone ban .

But it appears the FCC is finally doing something about “DJI front companies,” as watcher Konrad Iturbe dubbed them last year . Today, the FCC is fining eight of them $25,000 each — and giving them until Monday, July 20th, just 10 calendar days, to answer the FCC’s questions before the agency takes further action.

Those companies include Cogito Tech, Fixaxo Technology, Lyno Dynamics, Skyhigh Tech, Spatial Hover, SZ Knowact and WaveGo Tech (both of whom are behind Skyrover), and Xtra Technology. All are being fined because they didn’t answer the FCC’s letters to begin with.

In order to import, sell, and market any gadget in the United States that uses radio frequencies, you need the FCC to authorize that device’s radios — but on December 22nd , the FCC added all foreign drone companies to its Covered List, which keeps the FCC from issuing authorizations to those companies because of supposed national security risks.

Last year, the FCC also gave itself the power to retroactively ban products that have already made it through its authorization process, even if they only contain components from a banned company. It doesn’t need to be a drone: if a camera contains a DJI radio transmitter, the FCC could ban it from sale, import, and marketing in the US.

This spring, the FCC began asking each of these companies whether they’re marketing radio equipment in the United States that belongs on the Covered List, and so far not a single one has replied.

The Verge , too, repeatedly asked DJI last year to confirm whether it had relationships with several of these companies, and reached out to many of the companies individually without getting answers. DJI would not confirm or deny whether Xtra and Skyrover, for example, are DJI products in disguise. When we tested the Xtra camera against the DJI one , we found it too identical to even be considered a “clone.”

The FCC is also seemingly crediting that Verge story in its investigation, which is nice to see: