Italy Eyes $1.5 Billion Deal with SpaceX for Telecom Security Services
Italy is negotiating a major $1.5 billion deal with SpaceX for secure telecom services, aiming to enhance government communications.
Italy, SpaceX, Telecommunications, Giorgia Meloni, Starlink
Rome: So, Italy is in talks with SpaceX about a huge deal for secure telecom services. This could be a game-changer for the government’s communications. They’re looking at a five-year contract worth around $1.5 billion. Pretty big, right?
These discussions have been going on for a while, but they really picked up steam after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with Donald Trump recently. It seems like that meeting got things moving again.
The plan is to provide top-notch encryption for phone and internet services used by the government. Plus, they want to set up communication services for the military, especially in the Mediterranean. It’s all about being prepared for emergencies, like natural disasters or even terror attacks.
However, not everyone is on board. Some officials are worried that this deal might hurt local telecom companies. It’s a competitive market in Italy, and they’ve been struggling with profits for years.
SpaceX has been expanding its Starlink service globally, and it’s already in Italy. They’ve got over 7,000 satellites up there, providing broadband internet. Last year, there were some hiccups with Telecom Italia blocking their rollout, which didn’t sit well with SpaceX.
Italy is also looking at other options, like the EU’s satellite project IRIS², but those would cost a lot more—over €10 billion. So, it’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out.
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