HRL Morrison & Co, the investment group that has made a $3 billion bid for broadband services company Uniti, has described the digital industry as a “critical building block of society” as it snaps up more assets.

Morrison & Co’s chief investment officer, William Smales, told investors in Infratil – the firm’s listed infrastructure group – last month that digital services were becoming essential to every facet of modern life, from entertainment to banking to transport.