Italy is in advanced talks with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for a deal to provide secure telecommunications to the country’s governmentthe largest such project in Europe, people with knowledge of the matter said on Sunday.
Talks are ongoing and no final agreement has been reached on the five-year contract.said the people, who asked not to be identified, citing confidential conversations. The project has already been approved by the Italian Intelligence Services, as well as by the Ministry of Defense of that country.they said.
On Monday, Italy confirmed that talks are ongoing, although no agreement has yet been reached. “Discussions with SpaceX are part of normal government business,” the government said.
The negotiations, which until recently were stalled, appeared to be moving forward after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited President-elect Donald Trump in Florida on Saturday. The Italian government said the two did not discuss the issue during their meeting.
Italian officials have been negotiating a 1.5 billion euro ($1.6 billion) deal aimed at supplying Italy with a full range of high-level encryption for telephone and Internet services used by the government, the people said.
The plan also includes communications services for the Italian army in the Mediterranean areaas well as the deployment of so-called direct-to-cell satellite services in Italy for use in emergencies such as terrorist attacks or natural disasters, they said.
The potential deal has been under review since mid-2023. Some Italian officials have opposed it, concerned the services could hurt local companies.
SpaceX representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment made outside normal business hours.
In 2024 alone, Musk’s SpaceX has added more than 20 countries, from Ghana to Argentina, to its Starlink satellite internet service. Now serving more than four million people in more than 100 countries and territories, covering the planet with broadband services, displacing traditional telecom operators and overcoming new challenges from Amazon.com Inc. and nation-state rivals like China.
Late last year, Kyivstar Pjsc, Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, signed an agreement with Starlink to introduce a satellite-based cellular servicein an attempt to place telecommunications infrastructure beyond the reach of Russian attacks.
SpaceX offers its Starlink service for commercial applications ranging from home Internet service to shipping and airlinesand is also developing a product called Starshield for defense and sensitive uses.
It is conquering the global satellite communications market thanks to a powerful combination of technological advances and shrewd business maneuvers, plus Musk’s growing political influence.
Italy is one of the most competitive markets in the world for telephone companies, which have been fighting for years against falling profits. The local industry is facing a new round of mergers and multi-billion dollar asset sales.
Last year, Telecom Italia SpA, the country’s former telephone monopoly, sold its landline network to U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co. in a 22 billion euro ($22.6 million) deal aimed at to reduce your debt. The sale of the network was the first of its kind for a European telephone company and was strongly supported by the Meloni government.
Italy considers telecommunications as a strategic asset.
The government has stakes in Telecom Italia and in the new telephone network company owned by KKR, called FiberCop. Additionally, Italy controls FiberCop’s smaller rival, Open Fiber.
Italy is among the countries already receiving services from Starlink, which offers broadband Internet through its network of more than 7,000 SpaceX satellites. Last year, Starlink claimed that Telecom Italia was hindering the rollout of its high-speed Internet services.
The Italian government was studying alternatives to Musk’s Starlink option, including the EU’s IRIS² satellite constellation venture, as well as building its own satellite constellation, the sources said. In both cases, the cost of the projects would have exceeded 10 billion euros (US$10.3 million).
In his first term, Trump often presented himself on the world stage as a kind of salesman-in-chief for American business interests. He often used high-level meetings with his counterparts to secure commitments to purchase American weapons or invest in American factories.
