Italy is in advanced talks with Elon Musk's SpaceX over a 1.5 billion euro ($1.55 billion) 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 Defense Ministry, the report said, citing unnamed sources. SpaceX and Italy's Defense 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. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has forged a close relationship with billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, a close Trump ally.
Ynetnews Channels
Italy in talks over $1.5 billion SpaceX security services deal
Reuters |
Comments
The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the terms of use, including incitement, libel and expressions that exceed the accepted norms of freedom of speech.