Italy plans $1.6 billion deal with Elon Musk's Starlink for secure government telecom: Report

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. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, right, presents Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni with an award during the Global Citizen Awards dinner, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, in New York 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. 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 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.