MI-Connection’s contribution to debt payments is on the rise, while town contributions are falling. (SOURCE: MI-Connection)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

MI-Connection Communications System’s board of directors on Thursday approved a 2013-14 budget that foresees a smaller loss, and higher revenues. More important for system owners Davidson and Mooresville, the Lake Norman-area cable network is asking the towns for less money next year, and contributing more toward the system’s debt payments. Read the full story

Click for a PDF of the budget summary

MI-Connection Communications System, the local cable and high-speed network owned by the towns of Davidson and Mooresville, will hold a public hearing on its 2013-14 budget Thursday night in Davidson. The proposed budget projects  8.7 percent growth in revenues and expense growth of less than half that.

The system will continue to  lose money, according to a budget summary provided by the company. But the subsidy needed  from Davidson and Cornelius is expected to be 10 percent less than this year’s.

The meeting of the system’s board of directors begins at 6:30pm at Davidson Town Hall, 216 S. Main St. Read the full story

Officials of MI-Connection and South Main Square as well as other guests joined the virtual reception Tuesday. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

At a reception Tuesday afternoon at The Business Center at South Main Square, some of the guests weren’t actually in physical attendance. They were in Charlotte and Mooresville – beamed in thanks to the wonders of electronic communication.  The event marked the debut of a state-of-the-art videoconferencing service, available to local businesses and organizations for meetings, job interviews and other long-distance events.

The office center has teamed up with MI-Connection Communications System to offer the service, which is being described as the only one of its kind in the Lake Norman area, able to connect three locations by video link simultaneously. Read the full story

(SOURCE: MI-Connection)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Revenues rose and expenses fell again during the most recent quarter at MI-Connection Communications System, the local communications network owned by the towns of Davidson and Mooresville. The company also continued to add customers, including users of its new “Warp Speed” internet service.

In a report to MI-Connection’s board Thursday, CEO David Auger said revenues rose 4.2 percent during the three months that ended Dec. 31 (the 2nd quarter of fiscal year 2013) compared with the same period a year earlier. The year-to-year comparison included a one-time miscellaneous gain of $32,000 a year ago. Excluding that, revenues would have risen 5.2 percent, he said.  Revenues were flat – up just 0.16 percent – compared with the previous quarter. Read the full story

SOURCE: MI-Connection financial reports, 2011-12. Click to enlarge.

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Officials at MI-Connection Communications System sounded an upbeat note Thursday as they reported the company’s best annual financial results since its 2007 founding. In an interview after a board meeting at Davidson Town Hall, the system’s CEO also reported another milestone: At year’s end, the network owned by Mooresville and Davidson made its first-ever payment back to the towns.

That payment was small – only $277,000 – but it was symbolic, according to chief executive David Auger.

“We made our first payment in June to the towns, for debt,” Mr. Auger told DavidsonNews.net. “It’s the first time the company’s ever contributed from revenues … to pay down debt. So that’s great news, and we’ll do substantially more than that in 2013.” Read the full story

MOORESVILLE – Mooresville’s Town Board on Monday voted 4-2 in favor of revising the way Mooresville and Davidson share ownership and expenses from MI-Connection Communications System, the local high-speed communications network they jointly own. Davidson’s Town Board is expected to vote on the proposed revisions Tuesday night. Read the full story

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

The town boards of Mooresville and Davidson this week will take up critical revisions to the agreement that governs their jointly owned communications network, MI-Connection. Mooresville’s board on Monday and Davidson’s board on Tuesday will vote on changes that would adjust the towns’ ownership shares and limit Davidson’s financial pain while the system keeps losing money. The new agreement also would limit Davidson’s gains later, if the system turns profitable, and give Mooresville a chance at bigger payoffs. Read the full story

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Chief executive David Auger says there’s a paradox in all the numbers coming out this week about the MI-Connection Communications System. The company owned by Davidson and Mooresville is in a growth spurt – adding customers and expanding revenues. But it’s restating this year’s budget and revenues downward and now needs another $1.1 million from the towns by June 30 to meet a shortfall.

“We’re seeing unprecedented growth, more than anything we’ve seen since MI-Connection came about,” Mr. Auger said Thursday. But, with the company now asking for more money, he said, “there’s a paradox.”

He offered several major reasons for the shortfall: Read the full story