--- title: Private 5G network for a temporary distribution warehouse with AerFlex and Starlink date: 2026-07-23T16:11:00+10:00 author: Pradhyum canonical_url: "https://celona.io/resources/temporary-distribution-warehouse-private-5g" section: Resources --- / Case Study | Warehousing & logistics | Global Paper & Pulp Manufacturer # Private 5G network for a temporary distribution warehouse with AerFlex and Starlink Enterprise-grade private 5G for a few leased aisles in a 1M+ sq-ft third-party warehouse — live in days, and it rolls to the next site at lease end. ![01 illustrative Co W in warehouse](https://celona.io/volumes/images/01_illustrative_CoW-in-warehouse.png) Days, not months from roll-in to live coverage 1 Cell-on-Wheels AP24 + Starlink, fully portable 3–4 aisles scoped inside a 1M+ sq-ft building 0 racks, cabling, or on-site IT / At a glance ## Enterprise wireless in a building you don't own. ### \_01 The Challenge - Leasing 3–4 aisles in a 1–1.5M sq-ft 3PL building, 1–2 year term - No right to trench cable, mount on the host's structure, or add racks - The 3PL's shared Wi-Fi: interference, dead zones, no guaranteed QoS - No on-site IT, and no claim on the building's internet circuit ### \_02 The Solution - Celona AerFlex — AP-only private 5G, no on-site controller or rack - AP24 Cell-on-Wheels rolls in, powers up, online in minutes - Starlink WAN backhaul — independent of the 3PL's network - Coverage scoped to the leased aisles, and out to the remote office ### \_03 The Outcome - Live in days — no permits, cabling, or facility modifications - Deterministic QoS for scanners, printers, and WMS (MicroSlicing) - No stranded capital — the cart redeploys at lease end - Managed remotely via the cloud Orchestrator; no on-site IT Distribution for consumer paper products — bath tissue, paper towels, napkins, plates — is highly seasonal. To absorb a demand surge, a global paper and pulp manufacturer needed a temporary regional distribution point, fast. Rather than sign a multi-year lease on a dedicated building, it leased three to four aisles inside a 1–1.5 million-square-foot third-party logistics (3PL) warehouse for a one-to-two-year term. That slice still had to run like an owned DC — barcode scanning, mobile label printing, work-order management, real-time inventory against the WMS — but the tenant couldn't modify a building it didn't own, and the 3PL's shared Wi-Fi couldn't guarantee performance for one tenant's few aisles. ## Why the usual options don't fit Wiring a temporary slice of someone else's building runs into constraints that rule out conventional approaches. There's no right to trench cable, mount APs on the host's infrastructure, or install racks. The 3PL's Wi-Fi — and every other tenant's independent Wi-Fi — creates an uncoordinated, best-effort RF environment with interference and dead zones. A one-to-two-year term can't justify fixed capital in cabling and switches that can't be recovered when the lease ends. There's no on-site IT to stand up a controller-based network, and no claim on the building's internet circuit. ## One private-5G layer on a cart Celona deployed AerFlex — its AP-only, cloud-controlled private 5G architecture — on a Cell-on-Wheels (CoW) built around the Celona AP24, with Starlink as WAN backhaul. AerFlex needs no on-site controller, core rack, or server: each AP is a 5G radio with local data breakout that plugs into enterprise firewall and NAC policies, while the cloud Celona Orchestrator handles provisioning, policy, QoS, and CBRS spectrum coordination. The whole on-site footprint is the AP, powered up — nothing that modifies the building. The AP24, a small PoE switch, and a Starlink terminal ride a mobile cart that rolls into the leased aisles and is online within minutes, then rolls out and redeploys when the lease ends. ![04 architecture diagram scrubbed](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Resources/_1280x840_fit_center-center_70_none_ffffff/53850/04_architecture_diagram_scrubbed.webp) ## Independent, coordinated, and scoped to the lease Because only control-plane and cloud-management traffic needs backhaul — operational data (scans, print jobs, WMS transactions) breaks out on-site — a modest Starlink link is enough, fully decoupled from the 3PL's network, IT policies, and ISP contract. The AP24 runs on coordinated CBRS (arbitrated via SAS), so the manufacturer's network sees no co-channel interference from neighboring tenants' Wi-Fi. And because the RF footprint is planned for the leased three-to-four aisles rather than the whole facility, the manufacturer pays only for the coverage it needs — with the higher transmit power and lower noise floor of private cellular giving more reliable indoor coverage per AP than Wi-Fi. ![05 RF coverage heatmap scrubbed](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Resources/_1898x824_fit_center-center_70_none_ffffff/53876/05_RF-coverage-heatmap_scrubbed.webp) The AP24's sectorized antennas even reach a small remote office at the far end of the building — a label printer and WMS terminal — from the same cart, avoiding extra hardware. ## Why private 5G won on the merits Beyond the install and lease-term constraints, private 5G won for durable reasons: fewer, higher-power sectorized radios replace several Wi-Fi APs and their cabling (lower CapEx and OpEx); coordinated CBRS avoids the multi-tenant interference Wi-Fi can't escape; MicroSlicing holds deterministic QoS for scanning, printing, and WMS; and cellular's native mobility keeps moving scanners connected today and opens a path to AMRs and AGVs tomorrow without a redesign. When the lease is up, the entire Cell-on-Wheels relocates to the next site — no stranded capital. ## Deployment Images ![Deployment Co W mast dual sector antennas](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Resources/_1046x1310_fit_center-center_70_none_ffffff/53917/deployment_CoW-mast-dual-sector-antennas.webp) ![Deployment AP and antenna on ceiling](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Resources/_614x836_fit_center-center_70_none_ffffff/53922/deployment_AP-and-antenna-on-ceiling.webp) ## Wi-Fi vs public cellular vs private 5G RequirementTraditional Wi-FiPublic cellularCelona AerFlex private 5GCoverage of 3–4 leased aislesBleeds across the whole building; hard to scopeDepends on macro-tower proximity and building materialsRF footprint scoped precisely to the leased zoneFixed infrastructure and OpExCabling plus many APs the tenant can't takeNone, but no SLA controlOne AP-only Cell-on-Wheels; portable, lower OpExBackhaulTied to the 3PL's ISP and policiesCarrier data planStarlink — independent of the 3PLSpectrum among tenantsUncoordinated; interference and dead zonesLicensed macro, sharedCoordinated CBRS via SAS — no tenant interferenceDeterministic performanceBest-effort (CSMA/CA)Best-effort, no SLAMicroSlicing QoS, guaranteed latency/throughputMobility / handoverWeak; hurts scanners and future AMRs/AGVsNot tuned for indoor micro-mobilityPurpose-built handover — ready for AMRs/AGVsReach to remote officeExtra APs plus cablingIndoor not guaranteedSectorized gain extends coverage, no extra hardwareSecurity and controlShared SSIDs, limited controlCarrier-controlledDedicated SIM/eSIM under the manufacturer's policyTeardown at lease endSunk cabling/AP costN/ACart relocates to the next site At a Glance Customer**Global Paper & Pulp Manufacturer** Vertical**Warehousing & logistics** Facility**3–4 leased aisles in a 1–1.5M sq-ft 3PL warehouse** Term**1–2 year lease (temporary)** Spectrum**CBRS / private 5G** Solution - Celona AerFlex — AP-only private 5G (no controller/rack) - Celona AP24 on a Cell-on-Wheels (sectorized antennas) - Starlink WAN backhaul — independent of the host network - MicroSlicing QoS + local data breakout on the radio - Celona Orchestrator (cloud) — remote management, SAS/CBRS - SIM/eSIM device onboarding (scanners, printers, WMS terminals) / Related resources ## Go deeper More resources on private wireless for the enterprise. [Case Studies NEW ### Global data center hyperscaler needing deterministic wireless at a AI-dense server floor A global hyperscaler deployed Celona Orion private 5G across its server floors to give technicians reliable mobility in high-interference AI compute environments — while Wi-Fi continues to serve office and administrative spaces. Data centers · Jul 2026 ](https://celona.io/resources/global-data-center-needs-deterministic-wireless-amidst-rf-interference) [Installation Guide NEW ### Celona AP25-48 installation guide Data centers · Warehousing & logistics · Jul 2026 ](https://celona.io/resources/celona-ap25-48-installation-guide) [Data Sheet NEW ### WAP14 data sheet High-density enterprise Wi-Fi 7, unified with Private 5G through the Celona Orion platform. Data centers · Warehousing & logistics · Jul 2026 ](https://celona.io/resources/wap14-data-sheet) [Access all Resources ](https://celona.io/resources) / Next step ## See what Celona Orion can do for your plant Talk to the team behind Del Conca's deployment, or take the platform for a spin. [ Request a demo → ](https://celona.io/contact-us) [ Explore the platform → ](https://celona.io/manufacturing)