WV mayor bets Bell for Google trial in NCAA tournament

March Madness has everyone in the mood for a wager, including Durham Mayor Bill Bell.

Little more than a month after Durham announced its vie to take part in Google's trial for ultra-high speed broadband networks, Bell accepted a challenge from Morgantown, WV Mayor Bill Byrne with a friendly bet in anticipation of Saturday's NCAA men's basketball Final Four game in Indianapolis—placing the Google trial on the line.

The game will determine which team—Duke or West Virginia—will head to the finals to compete for the national title. The conclusion of Saturday night's matchup will also determine which city will receive an extra push in its application for Google's high-speed broadband network.

Bell will endorse Morgantown's application for Google's trial if WVU wins the game against Duke, WRAL reported Friday.

"If they win, I'll do the same for him," Byrne said.

Google's trial network would be more than 100 times faster than most commercial options, at more than one gigabit per second. Durham is one of many cities across the country that have applied to be a part of the test. Google is expected to make its decision by the end of the year.