More than half of Morgantown’s residents are students…a community of creative minds leading research and innovation for next generation applications. Morgantown is no stranger to collaborating on state-of-the-art initiatives. In the 1970’s, the Department of Transportation selected Morgantown as a test site for a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system. This system was initiated under similar circumstances to Google’s experiment. Through a dedicated government, Morgantown’s PRT system, which moves 25,000 people on average per day, has been studied and replicated more than 200 times internationally. More notably, the sustainability of the PRT system over the past 40 years makes it a model system for the Department of Transportation, and for transportation experts worldwide. Morgantown’s forward-thinking spirit of innovation will shine once again, as it did in collaborating in moving people, in moving data across fiber connections in our City. We have done great things in the past, but there is still a need and capacity for sustainable growth and development.

Morgantown is an economic oasis of activity. More than 16 percent of Morgantown jobs are in the high-tech industry…and it’s growing. The City has received countless accolades for economic development and low unemployment rates during trying economic times. While this oasis may provide “more bang for the buck,” so to speak, it has some inherent challenges. There’s no doubt that establishing high-speed Internet in Morgantown will not be easy. If it were easy, Morgantown would already be connected. But this challenge will provide an ideal opportunity for a high-speed Internet experiment. Morgantown’s terrain, weather and population are very diverse over a small geographic area. We feel that, if Morgantown is selected, Google will be presented with challenges that it may only find in establishing experiments in multiple cities across the country. Rarely will you find a City that has such diverse economic and natural factors in one small geographic location. Morgantown provides a true natural experimental environment. These challenges are in no way insurmountable. They will merely provide Google the opportunity to experiment, test and develop scenarios which can be replicated in future installations of Google’s Internet. And, when supported by a local government and community that understands this development, it creates an environment where innovation and creativity can be fostered relative to high-speed Internet deployment. We hope Google is up for this challenge…Morgantown is ready to pioneer these challenges together. 

Beyond expected research facilities of a University town, Morgantown hosts many other opportunities for research collaboration within city limits. Compute Against Cancer®, a philanthropic initiative of Parabon Computation, is an Internet-based utility computing service designed to provide nonprofit cancer organizations with access to massive computational resources. Research, which could take weeks to process using traditional computing means, is instead completed in hours or minutes thanks to the thousands of computers working in parallel. By providing access to its broadband resource, Morgantown can play a significant role in helping researchers achieve their next discovery and advance the field of cancer research. The Water Research Institute is an internationally recognized research center dedicated to hydrology research and developing energy-efficient technologies for our global future, and serves as a global portal to NETL. Next generation energy applications and education are happening at Morgantown’s National Energy Technology Laboratory and Biometrics research is occurring at local FBI facilities. The Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute is building new ways to battle memory-related diseases that impact our society. The Center for Disease Control’s NIOSH center, the NASA IV&V Center and the FBI center, where WVU is the academic portal, are all ways Morgantown boasts advanced research technologies and fosters innovation. Couple this not-for-profit/agency work with private sector research of companies, such as Mylan Pharmaceuticals -- a market leader in researching, developing, manufacturing, marketing and distributing generic pharmaceutical products, the Morgantown area is vibrant with tomorrow’s energy, health care and education technology potential. 

Business      Educational      Federal      Organization

Our current leadership has been defined as “tireless” in their efforts to “create our future rather than just react to the dictates of the situation.” The City remains “dedicated to public service…forward thinking related to technology and innovation for our Morgantown community, and…willing to engage and entertain all segments of the community in our local government process.” With this leadership in place, Google will have this “willingness and dedication” at their disposal for Morgantown’s high-speed Internet.

The bottom-line is that we, as a community, understand Google’s desires with a project of this magnitude. Internet speed leads to increased usage of Google’s products and services. Google’s presence in communities will force fiber connections across the country to open up to wider, more competitive networks giving more access to more users. Additionally, a showpiece project will position Google and the cities selected as pioneers in the next generation of Internet technology. We see Google as a collaborator, not a contractor. Morgantown shares in these philosophies and extends an open hand to Google to join our Mountaineer community. 

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Morgantown Accolades