We've all had to find new and creative ways to stay connected over the last year. But one of the most important has been maintaining our digital connectivity.

The pandemic has shone a spotlight on all aspects of our infrastructure. It's been a stark reminder that in the 21st Century digital connectivity, such as high-speed broadband, is just as much a critical utility for our economy as water, electricity or gas. And as our COVID-adjusted economy begins to recover, attention is refocussing on the importance of not just maintaining Britain's digital infrastructure but upgrading and expanding it across the country too.

So what does this mean for our towns and cities and how we think about the infrastructure of a 'connected place'? How can the vision of digitally connected places help to level up the UK economy? Where are the opportunities for UK companies in all of this? And how can we ensure that cybersecurity is at the heart of our ambitions so that our digital infrastructure is both connected and secure?

In this episode the Chair of the Catapult, Prof. Greg Clark speaks to Matt Warman MP, Minister for Digital Infrastructure at the UK's Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Matt has responsibility for cybersecurity, tech growth policy and artificial intelligence, foreign direct investment and Building Digital UK.

Music on this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions and Phill Ward Music (www.phillward.com)

Show notes:

To find out more about Project Gigabit, the UK Government's £5 billion plan to bring fast, reliable broadband to everywhere in the UK, click here.

To learn about DCMS's Ten Tech priorities for building back better, safer and stronger from COVID, click here.

The National Cyber Security Centre - which provides advice and support to business, government and the public on reducing the UK's cybersecurity risk – has published a new set of cyber security principles for connected places. You can learn more here.

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