arms race

Gogo社がアメリカン航空に提供しているWi-Fiサービスに関する記事からです。

American Airlines Doesn’t Care for Its Gogo Wi-Fi, Either

Passengers aren’t the only ones frustrated by airplane Wi-Fi’s high cost, slow speed and balky connections.

A legal skirmish between American Airlines and the Wi-Fi provider Gogo broke out last month, highlighting the increased friction. American cited a clause in its contract with Gogo that permits it to end the agreement if a competing Wi-Fi provider offers a deal that Gogo cannot match. It said ViaSat, a Gogo rival, made such an offer.

中略

In the end, industry experts say the arms race for Internet connectivity at 35,000 feet is likely to lead to faster connections that cost less.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/business/american-airlines-doesnt-care-for-its-gogo-wi-fi-either.html?WT.mc_id=2016-MARCH-OTB-INTL_AUD_DEV-0301-0331&WT.mc_ev=click&ad-keywords=IntlAudDev&_r=0

今回取り上げるのは、“arms race”という表現です。この表現をLDOCEで調べてみると、“the competition between different countries to have a larger number of powerful weapons”と定義されており、「軍備拡張競争」（『ジーニアス英和辞典G4』大修館書店）を意味すると分かります。しかし、この記事においては軍事的な意味ではなく、熾烈な「Wi-Fiサービスに接続する機器の開発競争」を表していると考えられます。(ninetails)