Starlink’s potential five-year €1.6B ($1.72B) deal to provide the Italian government with secure telecom capabilities is in jeopardy.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto confirmed last week that the deal had been put on hold following a Europe-wide rebuke of Elon Musk after his perceived threat to turn off Starlink services in Ukraine.
I literally challenged Putin to one on one physical combat over Ukraine and my Starlink system is the backbone of the Ukrainian army. Their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 9, 2025
What I am sickened by is years of slaughter in a stalemate that Ukraine will…
Talks were expected to resume once the dust settled, but now the country is reportedly considering launching a tender for a secure communications provider this year—a move that could implode Starlink’s deal.
Hot swap: The news sent Eutelsat’s stock price soaring nearly 50%, as the company is seen as the only other telecoms provider in LEO that could offer similar services to the Italian government.
Eutelsat could use its constellation’s excess capacity to provide Italy’s government with secure comms and extend internet connectivity to remote areas of the Italian countryside. It would also ensure that Italian communications wouldn’t be beholden to the US or Elon Musk.
“As you have seen with Ukraine, [Starlink] requires a continuation of good relations with Elon Musk to guarantee sovereignty,” Eva Berneke, Eutelsat’s CEO, told French lawmakers.
Locally sourced: In the long term, the region is working toward its own constellation of ~290 sats—IRIS2—which is expected to come online by 2030 to provide satcom services.
In the meantime, they’ll have to choose from the services available. If the anger at Musk persists, Eutelsat could win the contract—that’s what investors are gambling on. However, the opportunity for Starlink isn’t entirely closed off.
This month, Italy’s opposition leaders proposed amendments to a national space economy bill that would bar foreign satcom services from operating in the country, only to have those amendments rejected.
