1、标题：voa慢速英语:美国计划拓展宽带服务对应音频：0319a.mp3听力内容：Plan Aims to Expand Broadband Across USThis is the VOA Special English Economics Report.A newly released proposal calls for almost everyone in the United States to have high-speed Internet service at home within ten years. On Tuesday the Federal Communications
2、 Commission sent its National Broadband Plan to Congress.The F.C.C. wants one hundred million homes to have inexpensive Internet service at ten times current speeds. Another goal for twenty twenty is to have the fastest and most extensive wireless network of any nation.The United States invented the
3、 Internet. Yet a recent study placed it sixteenth in broadband access. F.C.C. Chairman Julius Genachowski says the service available is slow and costly compared with other developed countries.Currently, about two-thirds of Americans have broadband at home. But almost one hundred million do not. The
4、government says fourteen million of them cannot get broadband even if they wanted it.The United States built a national highway system to expand transportation. Now President Obama says a similar effort is needed to expand broadband networks.His administration says expanding access is an economic de
5、velopment issue. Fast connections, it says, are important to business and job creation, and to other areas like education and health care. The government proposes to spend up to sixteen billion dollars on a wireless network for public safety agencies.Most Americans get broadband service through thei
6、r cable television provider or telephone company. There are rules for companies that supply utilities like electricity and water to let competitors use their wires or pipes. But some experts point out the lack of such open access rules for telephone and cable companies. This is unlike some other cou
7、ntries with better broadband access.Expanding service to some areas of the country will require wireless transmission. But there is a limited amount of radio frequency spectrum available.To help pay for the plan, the F.C.C. wants to sell five hundred megahertz of spectrum. But it says the plan will
8、require ten times more unused spectrum than it can now offer. TV stations are worried that they will be forced to give up some of their frequencies.Some members of Congress have questioned the costs of the F.C.C. plan and how it may affect competition. At the same time, a court case has raised quest
9、ions about the agencys legal powers to regulate broadband service.And thats the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. Im Steve Ember.这里是VOA特别英语经济报告。一项新的提案要求，十年之内每个美国人都能在家享受到高速互联网服务。周二，联邦通信委员会(Federal Communications Commission ,F.C.C.)将国家宽带计划(National Broadband Plan)递交国会。F.C.
10、C.希望1亿个家庭能够享受低价的互联网服务，网速达到当前速度的十倍。2020年的另外一个目标是，拥有世界上所有国家中速度最快，价格最便宜的无线网络。互联网由美国人发明。而最近的一份报告显示，美国的宽带速度仅位居世界第十六位。F.C.C. 主席朱利叶斯·格纳考斯基(Julius Genachowski)表示，与其他发达国家相比，美国的网络速度很慢，价格很高。目前，大约三分之二的美国人家中安装了宽带。但是还有1亿人没有。政府表示，有1400万人即使希望安装宽带也无法获得。美国建造了全国高速系统来改善交通状况。现在，奥巴马总统表示，需要作出同样的努力来拓展宽带网络。奥巴马政府表示，拓展
11、宽带服务是关系到经济发展的问题，更快的网络连接对于商务，创造就业机会，以及其他领域，例如教育和医疗保健等方面都非常重要。政府提议花费160亿美元来为公共安全机构研制无线网络。大多数美国人通过有线电视供应商或电话公司来获得宽带服务。政府为提供水电等设施的公司制定了相关规定，允许竞争者使用自己的电线或水管。但是专家指出，在针对电话公司和有限电视公司方面缺乏类似的规定。这与其他有着更好的宽带服务的国家不同。向国家一些地区拓展服务需要无线传输。但是可获得的无线电频率波段有限。为了帮助该计划筹集资金，F.C.C计划售出5兆赫兹的波段。但是F.C.C表示，该计划将要求比现在可以提供的多十倍的未用过的波段。电视台担心，他们将被迫放弃自己的频率。国会一些成员对F.C.C.计划的成本及其对竞争产生的影响提出了疑问。同时，一宗法律案件也对该机构调控宽带服务的合法权利提出了疑问。
