TP-Link pledges $1B US investment amid mounting government resistance

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(Source: Cigdem Simsek/Alamy Stock Photo)

TP-Link's effort to obtain a conditional waiver from the FCC for a pair of Wi-Fi 8 routers – along with a pledge to invest in US-based manufacturing – is traveling a rocky road as it faces a handful of state-led lawsuits and pushback from nearly two dozen state attorneys general.

At last check, five states – Florida, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska and Texas – have filed suits against the router maker over allegations that it misled consumers about security vulnerabilities of its products, including alleged shortcomings of its built-in "HomeShield" service.

The suits, including this complaint filed by Florida, also raise concerns about TP-Link's purported "longstanding and ongoing connections to China." TP-Link says it presently manufactures all products it sells in the US in Vietnam. The Florida suit says those claims are overstated, pointing to an April 2025 Bloomberg story noting that: "TP-Link confirmed that, aside from components bought in Vietnam that account for 0.5 percent of the total value of inputs to the plant there, all other components are imported from China."

Related:FCC disrupts home broadband with sweeping foreign router ban

TP-Link was founded in 1996 in Shenzhen, China, later ran dual headquarters in Singapore and Irvine, California, and then moved its global headquarters to California in 2024.

FCC router ban looms over CPE players

US concerns about TP-Link played a role in the FCC's move in March to ban new, foreign-made consumer routers amid concerns about cybersecurity along with interest in bringing more manufacturing of those devices to the US. The FCC ban includes consumer Wi-Fi routers, Wi-Fi extenders, broadband gateways and even standalone modems, but it does not apply to enterprise-class devices.

A growing list of router manufacturers, industry organizations and broadband service providers have since gone through the process of filing – and in some cases obtaining – conditional approvals or expedited waivers that are typically active for a year (see end of story for a list).

Expedited waivers are generally focused on routers that have been previously received approval by the FCC, but must undergo a new review due to minor hardware changes (for new components, including memory, and changeouts of components that are reaching end-of-life). Conditional approvals are generally for new router products, including Wi-Fi extenders that have not previously gone through the FCC's certification process.

The time it takes to get through that process varies, but it typically takes roughly eight weeks, according to industry sources familiar with the process.

Related:NCTA seeks second exemption from FCC's router ban

TP-Link's pursuit of router ban exemption meets static

Several months ago, TP-Link submitted a conditional approval application for a pair of Wi-Fi 8 routers that it intends to launch globally later this year (TP-Link can continue to sell previously approved devices in the US). In August, TP-Link introduced a family of consumer-grade Wi-Fi 8 products, including a mesh system, travel router and extenders and adapters, that will be launched in 2027.

Although all of the details of TP-Link's application for conditional approval aren't public, TP-Link revealed in this October 13 filing with the FCC that its application also pledges to make a nearly $1 billion investment in US-based R&D and manufacturing capabilities that would result in the creation of "hundreds" of US jobs and expand on its current US workforce of 700-plus.

As part of that onshoring plan, TP-Link would also prepare to start assembling those new Wi-Fi 8 routers in the US sometime in 2027, the company explained.

TP-Link noted that it made the filing to respond to an October 7 letter signed by 21 state attorneys general to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioners Anna Gomez and Olivia Trusty that highlights many of the concerns raised in the state-level lawsuits.

Related:FCC exempts new Starlink devices from router ban

TP-Link said its filing aimed "to correct the public record" on its conditional approval proposal, arguing that the company is being held to an unfair standard that doesn't apply to its competitors.

"Many of the allegations raised by the 21 state-level officials are not germane to the information requested as part of the Conditional Approval application," TP-Link said, holding that it does not and will not share customer network data with foreign governments or unauthorized third parties. "To be clear, the allegations raised in this letter are baseless, and TP-Link looks forward to refuting these claims in court now that four of these officials have brought lawsuits."

The FCC filing comes about a week after TP-Link issued a response to the state AG lawsuits, arguing that it is an "independent, US company that is not owned or controlled by any foreign government" and that it complies with US privacy and data protection laws.

"The coordinated lawsuits are built on false premises. They do nothing to advance national security while unfairly penalizing an industry-leading U.S. company," Steve Kovsky, TP-Link's corporate affairs officer, said in a statement.

Who's doing what?

Based on FCC data and Light Reading research, here's a roundup of companies and organizations that have been granted or are seeking conditional approvals and/or expedited waivers, and the current status of those requests:

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