MI-Connection CEO David Auger gave a quarterly operations update Thursday.

MI-Connection Communications System completed its takeover of all the key technical and business operations of the local cable TV and internet network as scheduled Jan. 15, the system’s CEO said Thursday.

Chief executive David Auger told the MI-Connection board of directors at a Davidson Town Hall meeting that MI-Connection has set up a Network Operations Center (NOC) at its Mooresville headquarters – the final step in taking over day-to-day operations from Bristol Virginia Utilities. Read the full story

Davidson’s Town Board on Tuesday will devote its monthly work session to a presentation and public hearing on the proposed financial plan for Red Line Regional Rail Project. The Red Line also is the topic of a Lake Norman Chamber Focus Friday issues session Friday morning in Cornelius. And also this week, there’s a MI-Connection board of directors meeting Thursday.

Meanwhile, a planned meeting of the Cornelius Rail Task Force that had been scheduled Thursday has been canceled. Read the full story

Chart shows growth in internet usage from different uses. VoIP, which is not really visible, refers to "voice over IP," or telephone service delivered over an internet connection. (SOURCE: Cicsco Systems Visual Networking Index)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Internet traffic is exploding in the U.S. and around the world, thanks to growth in video, gaming and other data-heavy online uses. That’s a positive trend for anyone in the internet business. But it also means internet providers have to keep up with the ever-growing demand for capacity.

That trend is behind MI-Connection Communications System’s recent decision to upgrade technology for about 63 percent of its Internet and data customers, executives told the system board last week. The upgrade quadruples the capacity of network connections for 6,400 customers in Davidson and Cornelius and eventually could allow the company to offer cheaper high-speed connections for businesses and residential customers, the system’s CEO said. Read the full story

Commissioner Margo Williams and her dog Gracie on the steps of her Concord Road home last week. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

When Davidson Commissioners meet Tuesday night to take the oath of office for a new term, it will be the first time since 1995 that Margo Williams isn’t in the picture. As she steps down after eight terms, her unwavering and Texas-accented pleas for thoughtful planning, preserving Davidson’s unique character, and ensuring affordable housing will be absent. Read the full story

Rodney Graham responds to Robert Maier’s Dec. 6, 2011, commentary (“Towns’ network purchase was a pro-consumer deal”):

“While I agree with the gist of Robert Maier’s commentary, specifically that broadband internet access should be used as both a tool for economic and personal development, I would caution against making comparisons between speed and access in the United States versus other countries, and specifically against drawing conclusions that the differences are attributable to whether the internet is delivered by private or public entities.” Mr. Graham adds: “What is needed is a push to make sure that no one in Davidson is educationally disadvantaged due to a lack of internet access.” Read his full comment here.

MI-Connection workers installed new high-speed wires on South Street in Davidson during the system upgrade in 2008. (DavidsonNews.net file photo)

By ROBERT MAIER

A recent article in the New York Times (Dec. 4, 2011, “The New Digital Divide”) about why the US is ranked 12th among developed nations in Internet connectivity underscores the excellent reasons why Davidson’s mayor and town board (along with Mooresville) decided to purchase scandal-ridden Adelphia’s decrepit local communications network several years ago. The U.S. is dominated by just six Internet cable providers— like Time Warner, Comcast, AT&T. These providers are acquiring most remaining smaller systems without any federal oversight. We know what this means—prices will go up and quality of service will go down for those subscribers.

State legislators, including North Carolina’s, influenced by well-funded cable industry lobbyists, have made it easier to do this by outlawing local competition like MI Connection. In North Carolina, it is now illegal for a government entity to own a communications system. That’s like requiring the water system to be owned by a private company beholden only to its stockholders for whom profit is the only motive, and not providing water to homes that aren’t profitable enough. Read the full story

Updated 3:20 p.m.
An equipment upgrade interrupted internet access and telephone lines for “several thousand” MI-Connection customers overnight Wednesday and some in Davidson were without service for part of the day. The good news, according to the Mooresville-based company, is that the upgrade should improve internet speeds for customers in Davidson and Cornelius. Read the full story

David Auger (left) is the new CEO of MI-Connection. John Venzon is chairman of the system owned by Davidson and Mooresville. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

MOORESVILLE – Directors of the MI-Connection Communications System on Tuesday appointed telecommunications consultant and former Time Warner Cable executive David Auger as the first local CEO of the cable and internet network. His appointment comes as the towns of Mooresville and Davidson prepare to take over day-to-day operation of the the system, which they have owned since 2007.

At a special board meeting Tuesday at MI-Connection headquarters in Mooresville, the board also approved a new contract with Bristol Virginia Utilities (BVU), which has run the system for the towns – until now.

Under the new 3-year deal, the towns will take over management of the system – from marketing to finance to Read the full story