THE INTERNET: A critical element of daily life and driving the DIGITAL TRANSITION in real assets
Phoebe Smith is part of Generation X - the last generation to know what it was like to grow up without access to the internet, having to look up facts in encyclopaedias and visit libraries in person to do research.
Fast-forward thirty years and the internet has evolved to become essential to daily life. “There was a time when the internet was ubiquitous but not indispensable,” says Phoebe, now PATRIZIA Head of Fund Management RE-Infra. “Today, living without it is impossible. It is fundamental. If the internet were to entirely stop working suddenly, the impact would be devastating and widespread.”
This possibility was given credence in July 2024 when a cybersecurity update contained a bug which caused 8.5 million Windows machines to crash. The global outage caused by CrowdStrike’s faulty update impacted banking and healthcare firms and major airlines, costing US Fortune 500 companies USD 5.4 billion, according to insurers.
Phoebe Smith, PATRIZIA Head of Fund Management RE-Infra
“There was a time when the internet was ubiquitous but not indispensable. Today, living without it is impossible. It is fundamental.”
An even more widespread outage would be disastrous for e-commerce, news access, transportation, online learning, security systems and emergency services. Yet, despite the importance of the internet, there are bypassed or underserved regions. “Smaller towns and villages can often be forgotten in the rush to digitalise and smarten up our cities, yet they have a vital role in this transition,” explains Phoebe. “Many governments are committed to ensuring no one is excluded, and this is creating excellent investment opportunities.”
With strategic investments in smart cities company Connexin in the UK and the creation of a Smart Cities Infrastructure Fund (SCIF) that is investing in the United States, PATRIZIA is delivering fast network connectivity. Last year, PATRIZIA also entered Spain's EUR 1.5 billion local telecoms market by acquiring two Spanish broadband and fibre operators. The two companies now form the basis of Localcom – a newly launched ‘Fibre-to-the-Home’ (FTTH) platform from PATRIZIA Infrastructure.
The platform seeks to bring high-speed, reliable broadband services to towns and villages across Spain, enhancing the quality of life for residents and narrowing the digital divide between the country’s urban and rural areas.
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