The Italian government is having growing doubts about closing a €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink in light of the US pullback from commitments to European security, people familiar with the matter said.
Possible alternatives to Starlink for secure satellite-based communications to the government include Eutelsat Communications SA, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are confidential. Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, is also seen as an unreliable partner by some in Meloni’s administration, they said.
A spokesperson for the Italian government declined to comment. SpaceX, which owns Starlink, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
I’m italian and i really hope the deal doesn’t go through.
Ontario Premiere, Doug Ford, just ripped the provinces 100M starlink deal. italy can do it
Italy is a bit bipolar ATM. Meloni is almost in love with Trump (same political view) but at the same time they’re proud to sell their weapons to Ukraine.
I only see rotten brains all around.
Drop the deal and pick the European provider!
Soon there willl be not just Eutelsat it seems:
Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile to provide space-based broadband in Europe
Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile have formed a new satellite service business called SatCo to provide secure space-based cellular broadband connectivity for customers all around Europe. With this, customers all over the continent, even in hard to reach areas, could access the internet on any of their devices […] According to the current timetable, the new system is set to go live across Europe in 2025 and 2026. The system has already been tested by Vodafone, when, in January, it made a mobile video call in an area without any reception. Hopefully, this will cut down on the reliance of Starlink, and give European consumers more choice.
Pull out of the deal
