(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy is in preliminary talks with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to provide secure communications for the government.
Bloomberg reported earlier this week that Italy is in advanced talks with SpaceX on a €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) deal for encrypted communications systems, which would be the largest such project in Europe.
Opposition leaders have roundly criticized the negotiations, arguing that a deal could put Italian security at risk.
“It’s about securing some very sensitive data and very sensitive communications,” Meloni told reporters Thursday in Rome. She added that the US company is “the most advanced doing this work because there are no alternatives and especially public alternatives.”
Meloni said she hadn’t discussed the matter with Musk and will only make a decision based on “national interest.” She added that no deal has been signed and talks are in an exploratory phase.
SpaceX offers its Starlink service for commercial applications ranging from residential Internet service to maritime shipping and airlines, and is also developing a product called Starshield for defense and sensitive uses.
Italy is among the countries already serviced by Starlink, which delivers broadband Internet through its network of more than 7,000 SpaceX satellites. Last year, Starlink claimed that Telecom Italia SpA was obstructing the roll out of its high-speed Internet services.
In 2024 alone, Musk’s SpaceX added more than 20 nations from Ghana to Argentina to its Starlink service. It now serves more than 4 million people in 100-plus countries and territories, pushing out legacy telecoms operators and out-pacing fresh challenges from Amazon.com Inc. and nation-state rivals such as China.
--With assistance from Alessandra Migliaccio, Flavia Rotondi and Antonio Vanuzzo.
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