Across the United Kingdom public (and private) resources have been targeted on improving broadband infrastructure. While this has served to provide new opportunities for households and firms, there has been some debate around the ability of firms to take full advantage of the opportunities that arise through this evolving infrastructure. In this respect, there has been particular debate on how far small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have taken up the challenge of effectively engaging with the resource. Drawing on the case of Wales, this paper explores the digital maturity of a sample of Welsh SMEs. The paper provides evidence of how far SMEs are successfully engaging with the new opportunities available through broadband, and develops a typology of firms according to their engagement. The paper then explores how these differences produce policy implications.

中文翻译：

---

新数字基础设施的区域影响：威尔士中小企业能否从超高速宽带接入和采用中获得优势？

整个英国的公共（和私人）资源都用于改善宽带基础设施。虽然这为家庭和公司提供了新的机会，但围绕公司充分利用这种不断发展的基础设施所带来的机会的能力存在一些争论。在这方面，关于中小型企业 (SME) 在多大程度上接受了有效利用资源的挑战，一直存在特别的争论。本文以威尔士为例，探讨了威尔士中小企业样本的数字成熟度。该文件提供了中小企业在多大程度上成功地利用宽带提供的新机会的证据，并根据他们的参与开发了一种公司类型。