Case Study: Beauregard Electric Co-Op achieves reliable, lower-cost private wireless substation network with Cambium Networks

Beauregard Electric Co-Op - Customer Case Study

Beauregard Electric Co-Op (BECI), a rural utility serving more than 30,000 customers across 5,000 miles of line in Southwest Louisiana, needed a reliable, cost‑effective communications transport to support substation automation and replace leased lines. Working with LRC Wireless, BECI deployed Cambium Networks PTP microwave links — including PTP 800 for the licensed backbone and PTP 600 series/PTP 650 for branch backhaul — to connect remote substations and AMI collection points.

Cambium Networks’ solution built a private wireless backbone ring (PTP 800 in 6–38 GHz) with PTP 600/650 branch links in the 5 GHz band using Dynamic Spectrum Optimization, modeled with LINKPlanner, to ensure performance. The result: higher throughput and reliable service at much lower cost (PTP 800 up to 368 Mbps; PTP 650 up to 450 Mbps in a 45 MHz channel), a migration off leased lines to a secure private network connecting 22 AMI substations, and links that have operated for years in harsh Louisiana conditions, improving reliability, security, and cost controls.

Beauregard Electric Co-Op

Margaretta Mayes

Information Technology Manager