Congestion on the line
网上的拥堵
Internet-service providers clamour for a fairercontribution from content firms
互联网服务提供商要求内容商的付出更加公平
THE raid by the European Commission s antitrust gumshoes this month on Orange,DeutscheTelekom and Telefnica of Spain seemed to come out of the blue.
欧盟委员会反托拉斯调查人员本月对Orange电信、德国电信和西班牙电信的突击调查事先显得毫无征兆。
The companies professed a surprise verging on stupefaction.
这些公司莫名惊诧,全然不知所措。
Even some Brussels insiders were caught on the hop.
即使布鲁塞尔的一些内部人士也是措手不及。
Naming no names, the commissionsaid the inquiry involved internet connectivity.
委员会表示这次调查与互联网连接有关,但没有具体指名。
The question is whether entrenched telecoms firms are abusing their strength in the marketfor internet traffic to deny video-streaming websites and other content providers full accessto their networks to reach consumers.
调查的问题是:强势的电信公司有没有滥用它们在互联网传输市场上的优势地位,拒绝给视频流网站和其他内容提供商到达消费者所需要的完全的网络接入。
Besides the content providers themselves, the other potential plaintiffs are the wholesalersthat the content providers use to ship their data across borders.
除了内容提供商,其他可能的原告方是中间人。内容提供商利用中间人跨界传输数据。
These rely on incumbent internet-service providers such as Orange to take the data the lastbit of the way to subscribers screens and mobiles.
这要靠占据主导地位的互联网服务提供商,比如Orange,来完成数据传输到用户电脑屏幕和手机的最后一段路。
All eyes turned to Cogent Communications, an American wholesaler which handles data forthe likes of YouTube.
所有人的眼光都转向了一家美国中间人公司:Cogent通信公司。这家公司处理YouTube以及类似网站的数据。
Cogent has complained, fruitlessly, to French and German regulators that their formermonopolies were asking too much to handle data, and throttling the flow to consumers whenbigger fees were not forthcoming.
Cogent曾徒劳地向法国和德国监管者抱怨它们以前的垄断者对处理数据要价太高,如果不能带来更高的收费,就限制传输给消费者的流量。
It is appealing against the French decision.
Cogent正在对法国判决提出上诉。
In theory Orange and the other network providers might simply pass on to their customersthe cost of all their streaming and downloading of funny cat videos and porn.
理论上,Orange和其他网络提供商可以很简单地将它们传输和下载搞笑猫咪和色情视频的所有成本转嫁给它们的客户。
But Europe s market is fiercely competitive; and regulators place all sorts of constraints onhow networks can charge for their services, while haranguing them to invest in newtechnology and new capacity to keep up with rising traffic.
但欧洲的市场竞争非常激烈,监管者对网络为它们的服务收费的方式设置了各种限制,同时喋喋不休地劝它们投资于新技术和新能力,以跟上流量不断增长的步伐。
Though there are similar spats in America, it looks to some Europeans like another exampleof the rape of the old continent by America s data-mining, tax-avoiding internet giants.
尽管在美国也有类似的争端,但在某些欧洲人看来,这只是旧大陆又一次被美国从事数据挖掘和避税的互联网巨头欺凌。
The broader issueand the reason, perhaps, why the antitrust watchdogs chose to weighinis that Europe is on the brink of big regulatory change.
一个更大的问题是:欧洲正处于一场管制大变革的边缘,也许这也是反托拉斯监察机构选择介入的原因。
A draft law to be published in September will subtly alter the principle of netneutrality,the idea that companies which own the infrastructure cannot give priority tosome traffic over that of others.
9月份即将公布的一项法律草案将对网络中立原则带来微妙的改变。这一原则要求拥有基础设施的公司不能偏向特定的流量,不利于其他流量。
This rule has fostered competition and kept prices down in Europe but has discouragednetworks from investing.
这一规则在欧洲培育了竞争,压低了价格,但打消了这些公司进行投资的积极性。
The draft law will ban incumbents from blocking data from some sources,
这一法律草案将禁止占主导地位的运营商阻塞特定来源的数据,
but it will let them impose varying charges for different qualities of service for data sentthrough wholesalers.
但允许它们对通过中间人发送的数据服务的不同质量收取不同费用。
Together with other provisions in the package, this should encourage Europe s telecomsfirms to invest in upgrading their networks, its authors hope.
制定者希望,这一规定和该法律草案的其他一些规定将鼓励欧洲的电信公司投资于网络升级。
But the commission s antitrust watchdogs are bound to be on guard against any moves thatmight reduce competition.
但委员会的反托拉斯监察机构下定决心,时刻提防任何可能削弱竞争的举动。
词语解释
1.come out of v.由产生,从出来
Then why did you come out of their lair?
那你为什么从他们的藏身处出来?
Does it mean you cannot come out of thesebrackets?
这是否意味着你再不能从括号中挣脱而出?
2.access to 有权使用
Coffee growers also needed better access to markets.
咖啡种植者也需要更好的途径进入市场。
Wto membership should at least provide greater access to foreign markets.
成为wto成员后至少能让他们更容易进入外国市场。
3.pass on 传递;去世;前进
I never felt stressed like that, but he did pass on his sense of adventure.
我从没感觉到那样压抑,但是他确实给我传递了他的冒险精神。
This is why cells like me feel an undeniable urge to pass on what we ve figured out thus far.
这就是诸如我之类的个体感到有一种无可质疑的渴望,促使我们传递我们目前所领悟到的东西。
4.invest in 在上投资,在投入
Such pay structures encourage employees to invest in high-risk assets.
这样的薪酬结构会促使雇员投资高风险资产。
Invest in u. s.companies that do business in china.
投资于同中国有业务往来的美国公司。
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