From a Pine Tree to a Fiber Network: How Cajun Broadband Is Rewiring Rural Louisiana

At a ribbon-cutting in Vermilion Parish celebrating Cajun Broadband’s latest expansion, there were all the usual trappings of a public milestone: remarks from local officials, a video message from Jeff Landry, and a ceremonial cut of the tape.

There was also seafood gumbo — cooked the night before by company co-founder Chris Disher.

It was a fitting detail. Cajun Broadband has grown into one of Louisiana’s most important rural infrastructure builders, but it still operates with the personal touch of a family business. That combination — scale without detachment — is precisely why the company has become a quiet leader in the state’s effort to bring high-speed internet to places long left behind.

This fall, Cajun Broadband secured $18.2 million in federal funding through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program to connect roughly 4,000 additional homes and businesses. Construction using those funds begins this month.

“We’re small, so we can build fast,” Disher said.

That speed matters in rural Louisiana, where connectivity gaps have limited everything from health care access to economic growth. Already, the Broussard-based company provides fiber internet across much of Acadiana, forming a ring around Lafayette. In 2023, Inc. Magazine named Cajun Broadband one of the fastest-growing companies in the country — ranking No. 603 nationally and fourth among Louisiana-based firms.

“We kept doubling in size every year,” Disher said, “because we didn’t understand just how big the need was in rural communities.”

Built the Cajun Way

Cajun Broadband’s origin story is not one dreamed up in a boardroom. It began in 2017 with an antenna mounted in a pine tree.

Disher’s teenage sons were frustrated with painfully slow internet at home. At the same time, his longtime friend Jimmy Lewis — now the company’s managing director — passed an unused communications tower every day on his way to work.

They asked a simple question: What if we used it?

With permission granted, they mounted a dish, tested the signal, and discovered they had 60 megabits per second — blazing fast for the area at the time. They connected one neighbor, then another. Soon, there were 10 customers. Nights and weekends turned into full-time work.

Within two years, Cajun Broadband had more than 1,000 customers. Today, while the company declines to publish exact figures, it serves nearly 10,000 customers across seven parishes.

When Louisiana launched the Granting Underserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities (GUMBO) program, Disher didn’t hire a lobbyist. He bought a tie and went parish to parish, explaining what his company could do. In late 2022, Cajun Broadband secured nearly $20 million in GUMBO funding and installed 90,000 feet of fiber in St. Martin Parish — becoming the first company in the state to complete a GUMBO project.

“They bootstrapped this business,” said Veneeth Iyengar, executive director of the Louisiana Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity. “They saw a need that wasn’t being met and built something that’s now impacting thousands of lives.”

Infrastructure That Changes Lives

Despite its growth, Cajun Broadband remains small by design. Employees often describe it as a family operation — sometimes literally. Disher’s son works in the field as a fiber splicer. Another employee’s daughter works in the office. Technicians text customers holiday greetings.

That closeness shows up on the ground.

In Vermilion Parish alone, the company recently completed three projects totaling roughly 500,000 feet of fiber and connecting 1,750 homes and businesses. For residents who once struggled to upload a document or stream a video, the difference is immediate.

Michelle Romero, a nurse and health coach, can now upload workout videos in minutes instead of hours. A local youth athletic association that once struggled to process credit card payments now streams games and hosts regional tournaments.

“People are really happy you’re there,” Disher said.

A Louisiana Model

Disher never set out to be an entrepreneur. A Louisiana-educated engineer, he spent years working for General Electric overseas before losing his job during corporate downsizing. With encouragement from his wife, he committed full-time to Cajun Broadband.

At first, he felt responsible for his family. Then his employees. Now, he says, he feels responsible for the region.

That sense of stewardship mirrors a broader shift underway in Louisiana: a focus on practical, results-oriented investment that improves everyday life rather than chasing headlines.

Cajun Broadband’s success underscores a simple truth often overlooked in national broadband debates: local companies, rooted in their communities, are often best positioned to solve local problems — especially when state leadership clears the path instead of getting in the way.

From a pine tree to parish-wide fiber networks, Cajun Broadband shows what’s possible when entrepreneurship, local knowledge, and smart public investment align. It’s not just a broadband story. It’s a Louisiana story — and one that’s still being written.