The chief executive of the community-owned cable and internet system in the Lake Norman area has passed away. David Auger died Friday, May 17.
Auger had been CEO of Continuum since 2011. The system is owned by the towns of Mooresville and Davidson and offers telephone, internet and cable TV service. It has about 17,000 customers in north Mecklenburg and south Iredell counties.
“David was a wonderful person and a great leader for Continuum. He will be missed,” said Continuum board Chairman Larson Jaenicke.
Continuum's board appointed board member Bob Guth as interim CEO.
Auger was a 30-year veteran of the cable industry who worked previously with Time Warner Cable. At Continuum, formerly known as MI-Connection, he oversaw modernization and expansion of the network and overhauled the system's finances.
During his tenure, the cable TV industry transformed and the high-speed internet connections became a bigger part of the company's business. In a 2015 interview, he described it this way: “We’re really not a cable company anymore. We’re a broadband company, and we provide video.”
Davidson and Mooresville borrowed $92.5 million to buy and upgrade the network in 2007, after the bankruptcy of Adelphia Communications. Revenues have grown, but Continuum still gets annual subsidies from the towns, to help pay off the remaining $60 million in debt.
The towns recently put the system on the market. They said in March if they receive an acceptable offer, they’ll ask residents to approve the sale in a vote this November.