Places that until recently were deaf and dumb are rapidly acquiring up-to-date telecommunications that will let them promote both internal and foreign investment.
一些不久前还是信息闭塞的地方正在迅速获得最新的通信技术，这将促进他们吸纳国内外投资。
It may take a decade for many countries in Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe to improve transportation, power supplies, and other utilities.
亚洲、拉丁美洲和东欧的许多国家也许需要10年时间来改善其交通、电力供应和其他公用设施。
But a single optical fiber with a diameter of less than half a millimeter can carry more information than a large cable made of copper wires.
但是只一根直径小于半毫米的光纤电缆就可以比由铜丝制成的粗电缆承载更多的信息。
By installing optical fiber, digital switches, and the latest wireless transmission systems, a parade of urban centers and industrial zones from Beijing to Budapest are stepping directly into the Information Age.
由于安装了光纤电缆、数字转换器和最新的无线传输系统，从北京到布达佩斯的一系列城区和工业区正在直接步入信息时代。
A spider's web of digital and wireless communication links is already reaching most of Asia and parts of Eastern Europe.
一个蛛网般的数字和无线通信网络已经发展到亚洲的大部分地区和东欧的部分地区。
All these developing regions see advanced communications as a way to leap over whole stages of economic development.
所有这些发展中地区都把先进的通信技术看作一种跨越经济发展诸阶段的途径。
Widespread access to information technologies, for example, promises to condense the time required to change from labor-intensive assembly work to industries that involve engineering, marketing, and design.
例如，信息技术的广泛应用有望缩短劳动密集型的组装工业转向涉及工程、营销和设计的那些产业所需的时间。
Modern communications \give countries like China and Vietnam a huge advantage over countries stuck with old technology\
现代通信技术“将使中国、越南这样的国家比那些困于旧技术的国家拥有巨大的优势”。
How fast these nations should push ahead is a matter of debate.
这些国家应以多快的速度向前发展是人们争论的一个问题。
Many experts think Vietnam is going too far by requiring that all mobile phones be expensive digital models, when it is desperate for any phones, period.
许多专家认为，越南在目前急需电话的情况下，却要求所有的移动电话都必须是昂贵的数字型电话，这种做法太超前了。
\countries lack experience in weighing costs and choosing between technologies,\
一位专家说：“这些国家缺乏成本估算和选择技术的经验。”
Still, there's little dispute that communications will be a key factor separating the winners from the losers.
然而毋庸争辩，通信技术将是区分输赢的关键因素。
Consider Russia.
看一看俄罗斯的情况吧。
Because of its strong educational system in mathematics and science, it should thrive in the Information Age.
由于其坚实的数学和科学教育基础，它应该在信息时代有繁荣的发展。
The problem is its national phone system is a rusting antique that dates from the l930s.
问题是，它的国内电话系统是一堆生锈的20世纪30年代的老古董。 To lick this problem, Russia is starting to install optical fiber and has a strategic plan to pump $40 billion into various communications projects. 为了解决这一问题，俄罗斯已经开始铺设光纤电缆，并制定了投入400亿美元建设多项通信工程的战略计划。
But its economy is stuck in recession and it barely has the money to even scratch the surface of the problem.
但是由于其经济陷于低迷，几乎没有资金来着手解决最基本的问题。
Compare that with the mainland of China. Over the next decade, it plans to pour some $100 billion into telecommunications equipment.
与俄罗斯相比，在未来10年中，中国大陆计划对通信设备投入1,000亿美元。
In a way, China's backwardness is an advantage, because the expansion occurs just as new technologies are becoming cheaper than copper wire systems. 从某种意义上说，中国的落后成了一种有利因素，因为这一发展正好发生在新技术比铜线电缆系统更便宜的时候。
By the end of 1995, each of China's provincial capitals except for Lhasa will have digital switches and high-capacity optical fiber links.
到1995年底，中国除了拉萨以外的省会都将有数字转换器和高容量的光纤网，
This means that major cities are getting the basic infrastructure to become major parts of the information superhighway, allowing people to log on to the most advanced services available.
这意味着其主要城市正在具备必需的基础设施，成为信息高速公路的主要部分，使人们能够进入系统，获得最先进的服务。
Telecommunications is also a key to Shanghai's dream of becoming a top financial center.
电信工程也是上海实现其成为一流的金融中心这一梦想的关键。
To offer peak performance in providing the electronic data and paperless trading global investors expect, Shanghai plans telecommunications networks as powerful as those in Manhattan.
为了能给国际投资者提供其所期望的电子数据和无纸化交易方面的出色服务，上海计划建设与曼哈顿同样强大的电信网络。
Meanwhile, Hungary also hopes to jump into the modern world.
与此同时，匈牙利也希望跃入现代世界。
Currently, 700,000 Hungarians are waiting for phones.
目前，有70万匈牙利人等着装电话。
To partially overcome the problem of funds and to speed the import of Western