Will TP-Link really make routers in the US? Here’s what it told us
TP-Link says it plans to invest nearly $1 billion in US router production, with domestic assembly of its Wi-Fi 8 models potentially starting next year in Corinth, Mississippi. The proposal could bring manufacturing and research jobs, but it depends on the company receiving a waiver from the US router import ban.
The company has signed a letter of intent with contract manufacturer Key Tronic and says the site could handle work from incoming components through testing, packaging and plastic moulding. TP-Link says it needs the waiver because key components, including chips from US firms Qualcomm and Broadcom, are made abroad. Its representative said the FCC has not indicated whether the application will be approved; the company puts its US market share at about 9 to 10 per cent, while critics have raised security and ownership concerns.
- TP-Link’s US router plant plan depends on an FCC waiver.
- Production in Mississippi could begin as early as next year.
- The company says it would invest nearly $1 billion.