高铁要不要覆盖WiFi应由市场决定

Wang Mengshu, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said at a panel discussion on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress that WiFi should not be provided on high-speed trains, as it might disturb onboard communication signals and would also cost a lot in maintenance. He also encouraged passengers to enjoy the views, instead of fixing their eyes on the tiny screens of smartphones and laptops. However, on last Tuesday Beijing Youth Daily said it should be market demand that decides whether the WiFi is offered on board trains or not.

全国人大代表、中国工程院院士王梦恕在全国人民代表大会某代表团的分组审议中表示，高铁上面不应该覆盖WiFi信号，因为WiFi可能会影响机车通信信号，并且后期维护成本也高。他还鼓励乘客多享受铁路两旁的风景，而不是盯着智能手机或平板电脑的小屏幕看。不过，根据上周二北京青年报报道，高铁覆不覆盖WiFi应当由市场需求来决定。

An increasing number of residents, especially young white collar workers, are addicted to their smartphones rather than face-to-face interactions, thanks to the extensive WiFi coverage across the country. That partly justifies Wang's opposition to the offering of WiFi on high-speed trains, because they are not supposed to be dependent on high-tech gadgets. It is also evident that passengers on trains without free WiFi will use their smartphones and other mobile devices less.

得益于全国广泛覆盖的WiFi信号，越来越多的人们，特别是年轻白领沉迷于智能手机，而不喜欢面对面的交流。这也在一方面证明了王院士反对高铁覆盖WiFi是有道理的，因为人们不应当活在高科技数码产品的虚拟世界里。同时也表明，如果高铁上没有免费WiFi，乘客使用他们的智能手机或者其他移动设备上网的机率就会小一些。

However, whether the trains should provide a free WiFi service fundamentally depends on customer demand.

然而，高铁上到底应不应该提供免费WiFi服务，说到底是由用户需求来决定的。

In other words, State-owned as it is, the China Railway Corp still has to abide by relevant market rules, and provide technologically feasible services to passengers if that is what they want. It cannot turn a blind eye to customers' wants "for the sake of their well-being".

换句话说，即便是国企，中国铁路总公司仍然得考虑遵守市场规律，如果乘客有需求，就得为乘客提供可行的技术支持。用户要追求更好的服务享受，该公司就不能对此视若无睹。

Free WiFi, in fact, is already available on a slew of buses and coaches. This is a natural response to their competition with trains (especially high-speed ones), which are significantly faster and safer. The bus companies have been compelled to improve their services to survive.

事实上，很多公共汽车和长途汽车上已经提供了免费WiFi，这是面对速度与安全性都有显著提高的火车（特别是高铁）带来的竞争所做出的正常回应。公交客车公司被迫改善服务以求生存。

It requires properly tailored guidance, not a total ban on the use, to offset the negative effects of high-end technologies, such as people's increasing addiction to smartphones.

免费WiFi的使用需要适当的引导，而不是完全禁止，以此来消除高端技术所带来的负面影响，比如人们对智能手机越来越依赖。