Italy confirms: Negotiations with Starlink halted
Italy has paused talks with Elon Musk's satellite internet provider Starlink. Most recently, it was more about Musk himself.
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The controversies surrounding tech billionaire Elon Musk are also catching up with his satellite internet provider Starlink, which is now no longer holding contract talks with the Italian government for now. Italy's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said this in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
The Starlink talks became known at the beginning of the year through a report by the US financial magazine Bloomberg. The report stated that Italy could pay 1.6 billion US dollars for a five-year contract. Intelligence agencies and the Ministry of Defense had already agreed. Among other things, the Starlink alternative IRIS2 promoted by the EU could be bypassed, which caused a stir among the EU partners.
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According to Crosetto, this now seems to have been averted at this time. It seems to him that the talks have come to a complete standstill, especially as the discussion has increasingly turned away from Starlink and towards "from and to the person", he said in the interview, referring to Elon Musk. As a close confidant of US President Donald Trump, he is currently in the spotlight again and again with controversial statements and controversial US government actions. However, Crosetto also told La Repubblica, that as soon as the constant controversies are over, we can talk about the technical details of Starlink again.
Italy has recently become much more cautious about its Starlink plans, partly because the Trump administration's course in global politics has caused a great deal of uncertainty. According to Bloomberg, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is said to have suggested an alternative to Starlink to her ministries. One possible candidate is Eutelsat, Bloomberg reports, citing Italian government circles.
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