来源：《每日电讯报》
原文刊登日期：2021年3月18日
Britain should be moving heaven and earth to improve its broadband network. Economic growth will increasingly rely on fast and secure connections, while lockdown has shown that the internet is now a basic utility upon which businesses, families and individuals depend.
英国应该竭尽全力改善其宽带网络。经济增长将越来越依赖快速和安全的连接，而疫情封锁表明，互联网现在是企业、家庭和个人依赖的基本设施。
The Office of Communications’ decision to encourage the rollout by allowing telecommunications company BT’s Openreach subsidiary to charge higher prices for full-fibre connectivity will receive a mixed reception, however. Critics will say that the telecoms regulator has given a near monopoly operator a generous deal, which is bad in the short-term for consumers; others will argue that if the regulator had chosen to cap prices, BT and its competitors would have had little incentive to invest.
然而，英国通信局决定允许电信公司英国电信（BT）旗下的Openreach子公司对全光纤连接收取更高的价格，以鼓励提升宽带服务，这一决定将招致不同的反应。批评者会说，电信监管机构给了一家近乎垄断的运营商一笔慷慨的交易，这在短期内对消费者不利；其他人会争辩说，如果监管机构选择了限价，英国电信和它的竞争对手就没有什么投资动机。
In principle, at least, it is encouraging that the regulator is not minded to stand in the way of the emergence of a more competitive network – the fastest route to a fully connected Britain.
至少从原则上讲，令人鼓舞的是，监管机构无意阻碍更具竞争力的网络的出现——这是通往全互联英国的最快路线。
The lockdown has altered many working practices perhaps for good, and the levelling up of rural areas – a key Conservative election promise – depends upon better connectivity.
疫情封锁可能永久性地改变了许多工作方式，而乡村地区的升级——保守党的一个关键竞选承诺——取决于更好的网络连接。
Bringing Britain into the broadband fast lane will not be an easy task, nor a cheap one: the UK now ranks 47th in the world speed league, behind Norway, France and Estonia, and embarrassingly, we have lost ground since measures were last taken in 2019.
将英国带入宽带快车道并非易事，成本也不低：英国目前在世界网速水平中排名第47位，落后于挪威、法国和爱沙尼亚，令人尴尬的是，自2019年最后一次测量之后，我们已经退步。
Key to the upgrading effort is expanding competition – and, crucially, tax and regulation reform. Red tape or outdated practices must not be allowed to hold the country back from the next industrial revolution.
宽带升级工作的关键是扩大竞争——以及至关重要的税收和监管改革。不能让繁文缛节或过时的做法阻碍英国进入下一次工业革命。