For the record, UAMA could have been saved!
Should have left RuralCom CEO in place as he had pocket full of term sheets, which RuralCom Board of Directors were fully aware of. Working 3G cell sites with VSAT backhaul in rural Canada were a first-of-breed and worked from the get-go. Thanks to Gilat.
Had signed and executed inter-carrier roaming agreements in place with all major US carriers and in final negotiations with Bell Canada. These agreements captured by the CEO at a time when he was not being paid. In fact, RuralCom CEO took last paycheck in late 2009 when lead investor decided to ignore signed and fully executed private placement agreements first signed in 2006-2007 time frame. My peers in the industry told me to abandon the ship when Employment Agreement first violated, though he chose to stay the course.
In 2017 best Laliberte, UAMA CEO could come up with was stupid JV agreement which no wireless CEO would have signed. Ask me nice and I'll publish it. It clearly illustrates his lack of abilities to attract and retain key personnel.
So RuralCom was market-ready with access to capital, a proven CEO with crews and contacts and the technical smarts to get a 3G cellular network built at lowest cost.
Under his leadership RuralCom (later TNW Wireless) could have been up and fully operational and generating enough revenue to reach positive cash-flow in less than a year. A lean-mean wholesale wireless carrier like Commnet Wireless LLC. UAMA could have been built to $40-60M in annual revenue earning 40-60% EBITDA as a wholesale cellular carrier in rural Canada.
Never happened because Laliberte was never about excellence or building a business. His focus on his own ego and took the complicit posters for a ride.
