Italy 'in talks' over $1.5bn SpaceX security services deal: Bloomberg

Italy is in advanced talks with Elon Musk's SpaceX over a €1.5bn (R28.96bn) deal for the company to provide secure telecommunications to the government, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.

Discussions are ongoing and a final agreement on the five-year contract has not been reached, but the project has already been approved by Italy's intelligence services and defence ministry, the report said, citing unnamed sources.

SpaceX and Italy's defence ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment outside regular business hours.

The report said the deal involves SpaceX supplying Italy with a full range of encryption for telephone and Internet services used by the government. It also includes communications services for Italy's military in the Mediterranean area and the rollout of satellite services in Italy for use in emergencies such as terrorist attacks or natural disasters, it said.

The news comes after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday she was ready to work with Donald Trump after making a surprise visit to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida to meet the president-elect before his inauguration on January 20. Meloni has also forged a close relationship with billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, a close Trump ally.

Meloni denies SpaceX talks during Trump meeting 

Meloni did not discuss the issue of Elon Musk's SpaceX supplying Italy with its Starlink services during her weekend visit to the US, her office said in a statement on Monday.

"The prime minister's office categorically denies, considering it ridiculous, that SpaceX was a topic during the meeting with US president-elect Donald Trump," Meloni's office said in a note.

Italy's conservative prime minister made a surprise trip to Florida on Saturday to meet Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence before his inauguration on January 20. Bloomberg News reported on Sunday that Italy's discussions with SpaceX, "which had stalled until recently, appeared to move forward" after Meloni's meeting with Trump.

The PM's office denied any agreement had been reached on the supply of new services. "Contacts with SpaceX are part of regular discussions that state departments have with companies, in this instance those that provide protected connections such as data encryption," it said.

Meloni has developed a strong relationship with tech billionaire Musk, a close ally of Trump. Musk's aerospace business SpaceX owns Starlink, a telecommunications provider that relies on a network of low Earth orbit satellites. Starlink has been offering its services in Italy since 2021, but its business in the euro zone's third-largest economy is modest, with a customer base of around 50,000.

Italy is considering using Starlink services to boost Internet penetration in remote areas in response to slow progress in public-funded fibre rollout programmes. In October, the foreign ministry said Italy was also evaluating using Starlink systems to enhance communications for Italian diplomats and defence officials operating in risky areas across the Mediterranean.

Starlink owns around 60% of the roughly 7,500 satellites orbiting earth and is a dominant player, particularly for low-orbit satellites. Sources told Reuters in December, Italy plans to begin tests as early as this month to see if Starlink is a viable solution to speed up the rollout of high-speed internet.