Fiasco of talks on Starlinks in Italy

“It seems to me that everything stood still,” said Guido Crosetto, quoted by the newspaper “La Repubblica”. He added that it was partly due to the fact that the discussions went from technical aspects to “statements” by Elon Musk and about him.

As Reuters explains, the Italian government strives to provide encrypted communication between the government, diplomats and defense officials operating in dangerous areas, and Starlink is one of the candidates to provide this system.

As Reuters reminded, Starlinka services in Italy They have been available since 2021. The agency added, citing its sources, that Rome is currently considering the conclusion of a five -year agreement with a total value of EUR 1.5 billion (1.62 billion dollars).

Starlink is an Elona Muska currently the largest network of earthly satellites creating a satellite telecommunications system. At the end of February 2025, it consisted of over seven thousand small, weighing about 240 kilograms of each satellites placed in the low Earth's orbit. Starlink enables its users to access broadband internet anywhere on Earth. This is the first and largest service of this type in the world.

To use the Starlink service, it is necessary to buy a terminal and then cover the monthly fee for access to satellites.

Read more: Is Starlink irreplaceable? We explain what the system is

This idea did not like the opposition. Politicians undermined the legitimacy of entrusting the contract regarding national security for a foreign businessman and a close associate of the president USA Donald Trump.

As Reuters noted, the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made an alliance with the United States with a key element of Italy's foreign policy, but – as the agency said – Trump's actions, which antagonize the European allies of Rome, forcing her to politically balance. In turn, in the country of Meloni is under the pressure of the coalition partner, the extreme -right league, to continue to support Trump and Musk.

Last week, League leader and Deputy Meloni, Matteo Salviniinformed that he had a telephone conversation with the US Vice President JD Vanc, during which he praised “excellent American possibilities in key areas, such as satellite communication”.

The defense minister said that after stabilizing the situation, the conversations would return to the technical level. “It's about what is the most useful and safe for the nation,” explained Crosetto, who described Musk as a “visionary genius” in the same interview.

Andrea Stroppa, a representative of Musk in Italy, reported on Saturday that for Italy and their European partners a logical solution would be to create their own independent satellite infrastructure for telecommunications in low orbit, but in the short perspective Starlink can be the best solution. – Over the next three or five years, we should meet certain operational requirements- he said in an interview with live on X.