2015年经济学人 乡村宽带 埋入地下

Rural broadband

Going underground

Frustrated² country-dwellers build their own internet connections

FUSION³ splicing⁴ is a technique network engineers use to string together optical fibres.

It is not a skill that Christine Conder, a 60-year-old farmer's wife, ever expected to learn.

But with borrowed tools and a little training most people can pick up the basics. “It's only like knitting,” she says.

For years Mrs Conder and her neighbours in the Lune Valley, in rural Lancashire,

waited for telecoms firms to upgrade their sluggish⁵ internet connections.

In 2011 they decided⁶ to do it for themselves.

Their organisation⁷, called Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN),

has sold shares worth more than ￡1m ($1.7m) to buy ducts and cables for volunteers to install.

Because younger residents are commonly busy with jobs and families, local pensioners⁸ have done much of the digging, says Mrs Conder:

“Some are getting sixpacks for the first time in years.”

Enthusiasts⁹ say that locally owned networks such as B4RN—also known as “altnets”—

could eventually connect many thousands of rural communities.

Going it alone looks particularly tempting¹⁰ to the unlucky 5-10% of Britons who are probably too far-flung to benefit from the more than ￡1 billion in subsidies¹¹ that the government is giving BT,

the former state telecoms monopoly, to extend its high-speed network outside Britain's towns.

And whereas BT has focused on cranking up the speeds it delivers through existing copper¹² telephone wires,

most altnets are plugging houses directly into optical cables that can provide some of the fastest connections in the world.

To grow beyond a mere¹³ curiosity, though, Britain's altnets need more help.

B4RN is a case in point. In two years its volunteers have laid 200km of cable, and wired up around 400 homes, without any taxpayer¹⁴ money.

But to shore up the network they must now dig their cable under the River Lune.

Until they raise more cash to dig a tunnel—perhaps as much as ￡50,000—that project is stalled.

Politicians are supportive, in principle. Last year the coalition¹⁵ government found ￡20m to help local initiatives solve just such problems.

A lot of it went unspent. That is because many of the local authorities responsible for overseeing the rural roll-out have yet to confirm for certain which farms and villages will be left out of BT's state-subsidised work.

Until they do, even miserly grants are suspended, for fear that some spots will end up with a double dose of public funds.

MPs are livid. In early April politicians on the public accounts committee urged the government to make sure coverage¹⁶ plans are available for every postcode.

BT has argued that it is still surveying some areas, and that publishing the most comprehensive forecasts would reveal its methods to rivals.

Critics say its vagueness is designed to frustrate¹ initiatives that threaten its incumbency¹⁷.

Lately it has grown more forthcoming. But local authorities are also hesitant to let on who will and who will not be included in the roll-out, at least while the details may change.

Mrs Conder says that B4RN will cross the river “no matter what it takes”.

But thieves who made off with ￡14,000 of kit¹⁸ in December pinched a little of its confidence.

Local bigwigs have not always helped—rail bosses have refused B4RN permission to lay fibre over a bridge they own.

Her own connection, at least, will soon be up and running.

Broadband firms would charge many thousands of pounds to bring ultra-fast internet to the farm; B4RN customers pay ￡150 to plug in.

It has cost her much more in time and energy.

1 frustrate   

v.使失望；使沮丧；使厌烦

参考例句：

• But this didn't frustrate Einstein.He was content to go as far as he could.但这并没有使爱因斯坦灰心，他对能够更深入地研究而感到满意。
• They made their preparations to frustrate the conspiracy.他们作好准备挫败这个阴谋。

2 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

4 splicing   

n.编接（绳）；插接；捻接；叠接v.绞接( splice的现在分词 )；捻接（两段绳子）；胶接；粘接（胶片、磁带等）

参考例句：

• An ultra_low _loss splicing without conventional power monitoring could be achieved. 焊接最低损耗在非常规能源运作下将可能做到。 来自互联网
• Film, tissue backing. For splicing, holding in shoe and general purpose use. 具有薄膜、棉纸基材，适用于铭版、皮革及一般性双面贴合。 来自互联网

5 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

8 pensioners   

n.领取退休、养老金或抚恤金的人( pensioner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He intends to redistribute income from the middle class to poorer paid employees and pensioners. 他意图把中产阶级到低薪雇员和退休人员的收入做重新分配。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. 我自己就是一个我们的高贵的施主遗留基金的养老金领取者。 来自辞典例句

9 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

10 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

11 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

13 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

14 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

15 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

16 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

17 incumbency   

n.职责，义务

参考例句：

• Every incumbency employee has his year-end bonus.所有的在职员工都可以领到年终奖金。
• Administrator ethic includes administrative incumbency and administrative conscience.行政人员伦理包括行政义务和行政良知。

18 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。