The Lost Phone Signal at Music Festivals在音乐节“走丢”的手机信号

If you have ever attended any of the big summer festivals， chances are that you may have， at one point or another， struggled to get in touch with other people due to poor mobile reception. This universal experience， common across festival goers across the world， persists despite growing advancements in mobile technology.

如果你曾经参加过大型夏季音乐节，那么你很可能曾因为手机信号太差而无法与其他人取得联系。尽管移动技术日益进步，但世界各地的音乐节的观众都有过类似经历。

“The reason is simply cellular capacity，” says Izzat Darwazeh， a professor of communications engineering at UCL. “People are demanding more of their phones now and want these things to be immediate. So the demand on bandwidth or capacity becomes much higher.”

伦敦大学学院通信工程教授伊扎特·达尔瓦泽表示：“原因很简单，就是蜂窝容量。人们现在越来越依赖于手机，并希望能及时浏览手机。因此对带宽和容量的需求也变得更高。”

Darwazeh explains that limited cellular capacity is the primary reason behind these frequent communication breakdowns at music festivals. Mobile networks work on a series of cells that cover specific areas， and each cell operates on a different frequency， and while the capacity per cell can be doubled or tripled， there is a finite limit to how much more they can be increased. He further explains that phone connection becomes much weaker the more people gather in one cell due to their bodies absorbing mobile signals. While temporary solutions involve building additional masts to high-demand areas， these decisions are often dependent on cost considerations.

达尔瓦泽解释说，有限的蜂窝容量是音乐节上频繁出现通信中断的主要原因。移动网络依赖多个覆盖特定区域的蜂窝运行，每个蜂窝都有特定的频率，虽然每个蜂窝的容量可以增加一倍或两倍，但容量增加的幅度是有限的。他进一步解释说，由于人们的身体吸收了移动信号，因此蜂窝覆盖的区域中聚集的人越多，电话信号就越弱。虽然可以在需求量大的地方临时增设信号塔，但这往往要考虑成本问题。

To solve the issue， extra masts can be temporarily positioned where there is greatest demand. Topography and not being in the sightline of permanent masts， for example at a festival site surrounded by mountains， can also severely limit service.

为了解决这个问题，可以在需求量最大的地方临时设置别的信号塔。地形和日常难以看到但长期存在的信号塔（例如在群山环绕的音乐节场地）也会严重限制信号服务。

While higher-profile festivals like Glastonbury have partnered with official network providers to address this issue， Professor Darwazeh comments： “A little bit of investment from these organisers can guarantee that there is good coverage， but I don’t think there’s much incentive for the mobile operators to do this.”

虽然像格拉斯顿伯里这样的知名度高的音乐节已经与官方的网络提供商合作来解决这一问题，但达尔瓦泽教授解释道：“这些组织者投入少量的钱就可以保证良好的信号覆盖，但我认为移动运营商不会有太大的动力去做这件事。”

As 5G technology becomes more widely integrated， Darwazeh remarks that cellular densification， where more cells in an area are covered by one network， may relieve some of the network strain. The overarching aim lies in dedicating one cell per user， eliminating this issue altogether， but there is still a long way to go before this can be implemented.

随着5G技术的广泛整合，达尔瓦泽指出，蜂窝密集化（即一个区域内更多的蜂窝被一个网络覆盖）可能会缓解部分网络信号差的情况。首要目标是为每个用户提供一个蜂窝，从而彻底解决这个问题，但要实现这一目标还有很长的路要走。

Word Bank

finite /'faɪnaɪt/ adj. 有限的；有限制的

incentive /ɪn'sentɪv/ n. 激励；鼓励

eliminate /ɪ'lɪmɪneɪt/ v. 清除；消除

implement /'ɪmplɪment/ v. 使生效；贯彻；执行