TP-Link Meets With FCC About Router Ban Exemption, Says It’s a ‘US Company’

In an effort to secure an exemption from the FCC’s foreign-made router ban, TP-Link is arguing that it’s a US company.

TP-Link met with FCC officials on Thursday to discuss applying for an exemption from the router ban, officially known as a Conditional Approval, according to a pair of regulatory filings. Two days prior, US-based Netgear and Adtran received the reprieve, paving the way for the companies to certify and sell new router models in the US for at least the next 18 months. 

In the meetings, TP-Link’s lawyers and consultants spoke with staff for FCC Commissioners Olivia Trusty and Anna Gomez. In both, “TP-Link stated its intent to apply for Conditional Approval of its consumer-grade routers, [and] explained the importance of maintaining innovation, competition, and consumer choice in the consumer routers market.”

In both meetings, the company also stressed that TP-Link is not only a leading Wi-Fi router vendor, but also “a US company, with headquarters in Irvine, California.”

It underscores TP-Link’s efforts to downplay its ties to China. US officials have long alleged that the company’s products could pose a spying threat to Chinese hackers, a claim TP-Link denies.

TP-Link was founded in 1996 in Shenzhen, China. But it began the process of spinning off from its Chinese counterpart in 2022, which it completed two years later. The TP-Link US site emphasizes it has no ties to China, adding that the “US operations own and direct the global TP-Link business. Jeffrey Chao, the company’s founder and CEO, owns TP-Link with his wife, and both reside in Irvine.”

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Still, TP-Link will no doubt face continued scrutiny over its Chinese ties, especially once the company applies for an exemption from the FCC router ban. The commission’s guidance for the process requires a Wi-Fi router vendor to disclose its complete ownership structure, any foreign government support, and the nationality of its executive leadership. Chao, a Chinese citizen, is seeking US permanent residency through the Trump Gold Card program, requiring a $1 million payment, according to Bloomberg. 

There’s also speculation that the FCC’s router ban is a veiled threat against TP-Link. Last year, there were reports that the US would ban TP-Link alone, but it is now pursuing a broader ban to avoid angering Chinese President Xi Jinping amid upcoming trade talks, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

In the FCC meetings, TP-Link added that its routers have been “positively reviewed by technology reviewers,” and denied that its products pose a security threat. “TP-Link routers are safe and secure. Publicly available data places TP-Link on par with or ahead of other major industry players in terms of security outcomes,” the company told commission staff, according to the regulatory filings.

When asked about the FCC meetings, the company also told PCMag: “TP-Link Systems Inc. will follow the same process the FCC has laid out for all companies. We remain committed to providing innovative, reliable, and secure connectivity solutions for American consumers.”  

Applying for the FCC exemption will require TP-Link to submit a “detailed, time-bound plan to establish or expand manufacturing in the United States.” The company must also disclose the country of origin for all the components inside any future router models it plans on selling. We expect the FCC to also question the company’s stance on security, given that Russian hackers were recently spotted exploiting flaws in end-of-life TP-Link routers. In response, the company has published its own advisory, urging affected customers to replace the legacy hardware or install newly designed security updates to ward off the threat.

For now, TP-Link and other major brands can continue selling their existing product models in the US, but a security clock is ticking. Under the FCC’s order, foreign-made routers are only permitted to receive software and firmware updates until March 1, 2027. Although the FCC is indicating it’ll clarify the policy over time, the current order risks preventing numerous router models, including TP-Link’s, from receiving crucial security updates going forward. So far, only Netgear and Adtran are exempt from the software update issue.

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Michael Kan

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I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.

Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.

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