Italy is in advanced talks with Elon Musk's SpaceX for a €1.5 billion contract to provide secure telecommunications services to the government, Bloomberg News reported, quoted by News.bg.
The negotiations are still ongoing and a final agreement on the five-year contract has not been reached, but the project has already been approved by the Italian intelligence services and the Ministry of Defense, Bloomberg sources said.
The contract envisages SpaceX providing Italy with a wide range of encrypted telephone and internet communication services used by the government. Also included are communications services for the Italian military in the Mediterranean region and the deployment of satellite services for emergencies such as terrorist attacks or natural disasters.
The news comes after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her willingness to work with Donald Trump, following a surprise visit to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where she met with the president in anticipation of his inauguration on January 20.
Meloni has developed a close relationship with Elon Musk, another Trump ally. Last month, Reuters reported that Italy planned to begin tests in January to see if the satellite connectivity offered by Musk's Starlink was a suitable solution to speed up the country's high-speed internet deployment.