LOOKING at the helicopter shots of snowbound stretches of the M25, two immediate thoughts struck me.
The first was the number of HGVs stationary or jack-knifed across the carriageways. To see their massed ranks going nowhere is a reminder of just how much freight moves around our road network every day.
The second thought, and one underlined by other footage of London at a standstill, was just how quickly and easily such important parts of our infrastructure grind to a halt.
Our motorway network, railways and buses are a key component of our economic engine room. In the case of London, the underground provides a vital service enabling people to go about their business.
At the height of disruption, of course, it's easy to get carried away with criticism of those held responsible for the chaos, but would those protesting loudest and longest be prepared to pay a hefty levy on their local and national taxes to fund a state-of- theart fleet of vehicles and equipment to deal with heavy snow falling once every 15 or so years?
That debate will doubtless rumble on until next winter, fuelled by reports from places like Moscow or Oslo, where it takes a lot more than a few inches of the white stuff to close places down.
There is no denying this week's weather has caused severe disruption and dented the UK's economic performance.
The fragile state of such important parts of our infrastructure is a worry, especially in the wake of last week's announcement setting out the Government's vision for Digital Britain.
If the roads and railways built by our forefathers drove forward our economic growth, our aspirations to turn the UK into a digitally networked powerhouse are likely to be just as critical.
Broadband in every home by 2012 may be the headline-grabbing wish outlined in Lord Carter's Digital Britain Green Paper published last week. It's also the vision that prompted Gordon Brown to state that digital technology is as important to Britain today as "roads, bridges and trains were in the 20th century".
The communications industry generates £51.2bn annually, with the digital economy accounting for 8% of our gross domestic product. Lord Carter says he hopes it could grow to 12-14% in four or five years time – creating thousands of jobs as we make our way out of recession.
That's a tall order.
And, in the light of this week's disruption to our existing infrastructure network and the news that the Government's existing IT projects are overdue, over budget or both, some may view it as wishful thinking.
But it needs to happen if we are to remain economically competitive. And Digital Britain needs to cross existing boundaries if we are to create a genuinely sustainable and inclusive economy.
MATT JOHNSON is chairman of Mando Group
