Across Louisiana's industrial corridor, from Lake Charles to Baton Rouge and downriver to Plaquemines Parish, reliable connectivity is becoming mission-critical. Petrochemical complexes, logistics yards, and port terminals operate across millions of square feet of steel structures, dense pipe racks, and outdoor storage. Traditional WiFi struggles with that scale, and commercial carrier signals often fade behind thick metal and concrete. A single refinery shutdown can cost millions per day, so maintenance crews, autonomous vehicles, and safety systems all need latency-controlled, interference-free links that do not rely on the public network.

Why Louisiana Facilities Are Turning To Private 5G

Louisiana hosts some of the most infrastructure-intensive industries in the country. Massive crude oil refineries in St. Charles Parish, LNG export facilities in Cameron Parish, and the Port of New Orleans' container terminals all share three connectivity challenges: large outdoor footprints, metal-heavy construction, and strict security requirements. Private 5G solves those issues better than WiFi or commercial LTE.

1. Coverage. A single Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) small cell can blanket roughly half a square mile, and higher power outdoor radios can reach much farther. By comparison, WiFi 6E access points still rely on dozens of lower-power radios and careful line-of-sight placement to deliver the same coverage.

2. Reliability in harsh environments. Louisiana's subtropical humidity, torrential rains, and frequent hurricanes wreak havoc on outdoor Ethernet runs and on access points installed under eaves. 5G radios are built for outdoor tower mounting, use fiber backhaul where possible, and operate in spectrum that is less noise-filled than the 2.4 or 5 GHz WiFi bands.

3. Security and control. With a private core, enterprises issue their own SIM or eSIM credentials and keep all user traffic on-premise, a major advantage for petrochemical process data or terminal-operating-system traffic. Companies avoid the per-gigabyte fees and unpredictable throttling applied by public carriers.

4. Device diversity. Rugged handhelds, AGVs, and fixed wireless sensors from Zebra, Honeywell, Peplink, and others now ship with CBRS modems as a standard option. Our vendor-neutral approach means we certify the right hardware for each Louisiana use case.

Louisiana's healthcare and higher-education sectors face similar obstacles indoors. Hospitals in Shreveport or Lafayette must support nurse call applications, RTLS tags, and guest internet on the same footprint. University campuses like LSU have sprawling dorms and athletic facilities where public carrier macro cells get overloaded on game day. Private 5G offers dedicated spectrum and predictable capacity without the seven-figure cost of a traditional Distributed Antenna System.

For those interested in a city-specific perspective, explore our page for private 5g networks in New Orleans.

How Private 5G Beats WiFi And Public Cellular

Private 5G combines the deterministic scheduling and mobility features of LTE with the massive bandwidth of next-generation 5G NR radios. The result is a wireless LAN that consistently delivers:

• Outdoor cell range measured in acres, not feet.
• Uplink speeds of 100-200 Mbps with sub-50 ms latency, ideal for video surveillance and robotics.
• Predictable quality of service because traffic never rides the public carrier's core.
• Optional network slicing so critical control traffic is isolated from BYOD internet access.

WiFi 6 and soon WiFi 7 still work well in small offices but they operate at under one watt of EIRP and sit in congested, unlicensed spectrum. Carriers like AT&T or Verizon offer strong statewide coverage, yet spectrum is shared with the general public and traffic exits to the cloud before returning to your LAN. Our Private Networks Guide explains these differences in depth.

A Proven, Low-Friction Deployment Process

1. Rapid site snapshot. You send us floorplans or KML files, a rough device count, and any special constraints. Within three business days we deliver a high-level RF heatmap, preliminary bill of materials, and budgetary price range so you can secure internal approval.

2. Detailed design. If the concept fits, our engineers build a full propagation model, select the optimal mix of radios and antennas, and create an installation playbook. Because Waveform is vendor-agnostic, you get the best fit, not the brand we are tied to.

3. Turnkey installation. Our field crews stage equipment, pull power and fiber, mount small cells, and complete acceptance testing. You receive day-one coverage and a certificate detailing throughput and latency benchmarks.

4. Ongoing operations. We host, monitor, and patch the private core, and we stock spare radios, SIMs, and user devices in our nationwide logistics centers. A single support line covers both the network and the handhelds connected to it.

For pop-up events like Jazz Fest staging yards or emergency response bases, we also offer "network in a box" kits. Each kit includes a compact private core, two or three CBRS radios, and pre-provisioned SIMs that can be operational in under an hour.

Regional Expertise You Can Trust

Waveform supports customers across the Gulf South and beyond. A recent wireless deployment for Finisar, an optical-communications manufacturer in Sherman, Texas, demonstrates our ability to deliver robust coverage in high-EMI industrial settings similar to Louisiana's petrochemical plants. The project included custom RF modeling, on-site optimization, and post-turnover monitoring that cut downtime related to WiFi interference by 70 percent. While not a private 5G network, the engagement proves our capacity to meet strict performance requirements in complex facilities.

Transparent Pricing

Indoor private 5G networks usually cost between one and two dollars and fifty cents per square foot turnkey, including radios, core software, SIMs, and installation. Outdoor deployments scale even more economically. In flat terrain, a three-sector CBRS site can cover a 1.5-mile radius supporting hundreds of devices for roughly one hundred thousand dollars. Operating expenses stay low because the FCC provides CBRS spectrum at no recurring fee and you manage each device on a predictable per-SIM plan rather than a carrier data plan.

Ready To Get Started?

Waveform is your single partner for design, deployment, and support of Private 5G networks throughout Louisiana. Call us at (800) 637-4049 or get a custom private 5g design and quote today.