Here’s some great news for fans of the Omada Wi-Fi access points: TP-Link today announced the availability of its all-new Fusion Gateway family, with the Fusion 2.5G being the first to hit the market.
From the look of it, the new gateways aim to compete with Ubiquiti’s UniFi ecosystem, which has dominated the advanced (and home) networking market since early 2025.
TP-Link Fusion Gateway Lineup: An effort to turn an Omada router into a Multi-Gig container device
Since early 2019, TP-Link’s Omada has been an excellent brand for those wanting ot build a robust Wi-Fi network by combining multiple access points via a hardware or software controller on top of an existing infrastructure.
In September 2024, the company unveiled its third Omada controller option, the free cloud-based Omada Cloud Essentials, which makes the approach even more flexible.
Still, a network needs a router. While there have been a few Omada gateways on the market, they all use Gigabit ports, which negates the top performance of the latest Omada Wi-Fi 7 access points, which all have 2.5Gbps or faster uplinks.
That’s where the new Fusion Gateways come into play: These are non-Wi-Fi routers with built-in Omada controller and more. Any of them will allow users to build a multi-Gigabit wired network with the option of adding more Omada hardware, namely switches or access points, to scale things up.
Fusion Gateways’ common features
According to TP-Link, for now, these routers all feature 2.5Gbps port grade — the entry level of Multi-Gig Ethernet. With that, here are the key highlights of the Fusion 2.5G gateways:
- License-free cloud management: With a built‑in controller, Fusion 2.5G provides access to centralized management features straight out of the box — no device license required. Users can do that locally via the hardware’s built-in web-based user interface or link it to an account on the Omada Cloud portal for greater convenience and to use the Omada app for remote management, including the ability to manage multiple sites.
- Simplified setup for faster deployment: Fusion gateways come with standard setup and management via the web-based GUI or the Omada mobile app. Each gateway can automatically discover and batch-adopt all other Omada networking devices (switches and access points) at once, significantly reducing setup time. Each gateway features desktop, wall, and rack-mount for better deployment flexibility.
- Enterprise-class performance: All Fusion gateways are powered by a quad-core CPU, equipped with multiple 2.5GbE ports, and can handle up to four WAN connections with load balancing and auto failover. They also offer advanced IDS/IPS for reliable, fast, and secure connectivity, as well as advanced VPN features.
- Convenient touchscreen: Each gateway comes with a front-facing 2.51-inch touchscreen that displays, on demand, its various operational aspects and statuses.
- Advanced software capabilities: The new gateways all support multiple VPN protocols, with optimized Access Control Lists (ACLs), Quality of Service (QoS), and full‑mesh SD‑WAN, providing flexibility and control for distributed networks.f
- One-click remote, secure network access: Finally, all Fusion gateways come with a new feature called Omada LightLink VPN — similar to Teleport of UniFi — that allows for one-click access for remote users
In short, the “fusion” notion means a Fusion Gateway fuses a Multi-Gig router and an Omada controller in a single box. But there’s more!
Near future: Fusion Pro Series with a Unified Ecosystem
Apart from the Fusion 2.5G, which is available today, TP-Link says it’ll soon release the Fusion Pro Series that ups the “fusion” notion a notch by featuring built-in PoE+ support via eight 2.5Gbps ports and a power budget of 110W, enough to handle a few access points on their own. Hopefully there will be 10GbE options at some point in the future.
Most importantly, Fusion Pro Gateways will incorporate Unified Ecosystem, which, per TP-Link, “further enhances centralized management and supports the integrated management of networking and surveillance devices, including Omada and VIGI products.” In short, they will be true container devices with UVR support for IP cameras to offer a “streamlined management experience across networking and surveillance.”
If that sounds familiar, most UniFi gateways come with built-in storage and UNVR to host a dozen or more IP cameras via the Protect app. On this front, TP-Link is now playing catch-up, and it’ll be interesting to see how this effort will pan out.
Availabililty
While Omada has not been as refined as UniFi in terms of features, settings and application support, TP-Link has always had one trick up its sleeve: the low costs.
Indeed, TP-Link says the Omada Fusion 2.5G Gateway, the first in the new lineup, is now available at a suggested retail price of just $169.99, making it the least expensive non-Wi-Fi 2.5GbE-capable router you can find.
But there’s more. With the new Fusion Gateway lineup, TP-Link also offers the first 500 customers placing a “qualifying order of $399 or more on other products on the Omada Store — such as Omada Wi-Fi 7 access points or switches — a complimentary Fusion 2.5G unit. It’s a great way to start an Omada network from scratch.
If you want to find out how the Fusion hardware pans out in real-world use, check out my hands-on review of the Fusion 2.5G Gateway.
