Italy is now in advanced talks with Elon Musk’s Starlink for a five-year, $1.6 billion deal to provide top-level encrypted telephone and internet services for the country’s government, making it the largest of such projects in Europe, according to a Bloomberg report.
The project, which also includes communications services for the Italian military as well as for the rollout direct-to-cell satellite services in Italy for use in emergencies like terror attacks or natural disasters, has already been approved by Italy’s Intelligence Services as well as Italy’s Defense Ministry, according to the report.
The negotiations for the deal had stalled until recently when Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited President-elect Donald Trump in Florida on Saturday.
The deal has been under review since mid-2023 due to opposition from some Italian officials who were concerned about how it would affect local carriers.
This comes at a time when Italy’s domestic carriers have been struggling for years with shrinking profits, according to the report.
For example, Telecom Italia SpA, the country’s former phone monopoly, sold its landline network to US private equity firm KKR & Co. for €22 billion to cut its debts.
The government holds stakes in both Telecom Italia and in the new KKR-owned phone network company called FiberCop. It also controls FiberCop’s smaller rival Open Fiber.
Starlink already provides internet to Italy through its network of more than 7,000 SpaceX satellites. Last year, the satcom provider claimed Telecom Italia was obstructing the rollout of its high-speed internet services.
The government was also reviewing alternatives to Starlink, including the EU’s Satellite Constellation Company IRIS² as well as building its own satellite constellation, which could have cost €10 billion, according to the report.
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