Because Starlink terrorizes Open Fiber and Tim
The Starlink division of SpaceX, Elon Musk's aerospace company, declares itself ready to participate with its satellite internet connection services in large projects for the diffusion of ultra-broadband, positioning itself where Tim and Open Fiber do not arrive. Facts, numbers and insights
Starlink offers itself to the Italian government for the diffusion of ultra-broadband in the country, offering half a million users in less than six months.
With this promise, the satellite internet division of SpaceX, Elon Musk's aerospace company, "is talking with the government to enter the satellite internet service into large national projects for ultra-broadband", wrote Il Sole 24 Ore .
As reported by Startmag , in December Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Musk's approach to bring the Starlink satellite service to Italy and include it in ultra-broadband projects, to integrate the coverage of Tim and Open Fiber. In fact, the latter is the State's concessionaire for ultrabroadband coverage of the white areas, i.e. those considered to be market failure, and is one of the two companies (the other is Tim) winners of the two tenders as part of the “Italy Plan 1 Giga” to cover the gray areas (those with partial market failure). The project is part of the public intervention plans of the Italian Strategy for Ultra-Broadband, financed and promoted by the Department for Digital Transformation of the Presidency of the Council thanks to Pnrr funds, and implemented by the state company Infratel Italia.
Meanwhile, Starlink itself has complained that the introduction of fast internet in Italy is being hindered by the country's largest telephone operator with possible repercussions for services in southern Europe and northern Africa. Bloomberg reported this at the beginning of the month, citing a complaint presented by Starlink to the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy (Mimit) headed by Adolfo Urso, in which Musk's company states that Telecom Italia for months did not comply with the regulations requiring share spectrum data to avoid frequency interference. SpaceX also filed a similar complaint with Agcom, the state telecommunications regulatory authority.
Thus, Minister Urso committed himself to «finding a solution that can allow the best coexistence of the two technologies» by proposing a table at Mimit. For its part, Tim has made it known that it is open to the minister's proposal for a discussion with Starlink.
Therefore, Musk's satellite Internet service would aim to integrate projects for the diffusion of optical fiber and mixed FWA (Fixed wireless access) technology in remote areas of the Peninsula.
However, "The legal and administrative nature of the government projects Bul [Open Fiber] and Italia 1 giga [Open Fiber and Tim], meanwhile, makes the ongoing integration of a new entity" such as Starlink complicated, notes the confindunstrial newspaper.
All the details.
STARLINK'S PROPOSAL TO THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT
Then, according to Il Sole 24 Ore , “Starlink presented intervention capabilities and products to the chief of staff of the Prime Minister's office, Gaetano Caputi, to the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso and to the undersecretary at Palazzo Chigi with responsibility for Innovation Alessio Butti. In the meetings held starting from December, there was also talk of a possible involvement in the ultra-broadband plan (in concession to Open Fiber for the areas of market failure) and in the "1 giga Italy" project awarded to Tim and Open Fiber with the Pnrr funds".
PRESSING FOR FREQUENCIES
Starlink is urging the ministry headed by Urso to push Tim to do everything necessary to cooperate on frequencies. As Repubblica summarizes, “Musk's group's internet service is based on a constellation of satellites positioned at around 550 kilometers above sea level. The devices send their signal to subscribers along a frequency band called "Ku". This same signal also reaches earth hubs, which are called gateways and are real access doors. In this case Starlink uses the “Ka” frequency. Musk's satellites and his gateways located in Italy constantly communicate with each other. This web of communications works as long as it does not interfere with the communications carried out by traditional internet operators, starting with Tim. Starlink therefore asked Tim for the information necessary to coordinate its signal with his."
Therefore, if the situation remained unresolved, Starlink would be forced to move investments from Italy to other European countries, Musk's company warns.
THE AGREEMENTS WITH OPEN FIBER AND EOLO
On the other hand, in our country Starlink "already has agreements in place with Open Fiber and Eolo to use their portion of 28 Ghz frequencies to transmit the signal of its satellites" notes Il Sole 24 Ore.
Elon Musk's service already has around 2.6 million customers and the company recently launched a new economical Starlink subscription in Italy , at a price of 29 euros per month, which is in addition to the standard one of 40 euros per month. month. A move to win over more users… and more. “With 40 it offers connection speeds that are almost competitive with Tim's fiber optics”, underlined Repubblica .
A direct challenge to the main Italian telecommunications operator?
THE ROLE OF OPEN FIBER
Actually not only that. In fact, Repubblica always reports that “the arrival of Starlink, among other things, risks definitively putting Open Fiber out of business, which is laboriously trying to bring broadband to the most remote areas of the country. But if it is enough to install a satellite dish at home, all the effort of digging and laying the optical fiber at exorbitant prices is lost, and so is the investment that the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and the Australian fund Macquarie have borne up to now. It is therefore better to talk to Musk and try to find an agreement before it is too late."
THE DELAYS
Open Fiber is struggling to bring broadband to white areas.Just a month ago the concurrent control board of the Court of Auditors noted a "significant delay in the creation of the digital infrastructures linked to the Ultra-wide Band Plan".
Not to mention that the company's construction sites are behind schedule as part of the "Italy 1 Giga Plan" , a project promoted by Pnrr funds and implemented by Infratel for the gray areas. Furthermore, if there is no coverage by June 2026, Italy risks losing 1.8 billion in European funds intended for the company.
The fiber optic network company raised the alarm about delays in street address coverage at the beginning of the year. Open Fiber therefore needs funds to continue the work and complete the construction of the network in the gray areas by 2026, the deadline to avoid losing the Pnnr funds.
STARLINK'S PROPOSAL TO INTEGRATE TIM AND OPEN FIBER
And here Starlink would come into play. Elon Musk's company "would have spoken to the government about a capacity reservation that can currently satisfy over 500 thousand users in less than six months and about a related impact on economic growth, estimated on the basis of World Bank calculations, between two and three billion. For Starlink, the satellite would also offer advantages in terms of greater decorum for urban areas which may be damaged due to excavation works for the fibre" reports Il Sole 24 Ore .
“The sources interviewed – continues Il Sole – explain Starlink's position on all three points. On the first aspect, Musk's business unit is available to evaluate forms of participation that the government deems appropriate, possibly including a tender. For a direct or indirect contribution to support the operators currently already in the field" namely Tim and Open Fiber.
Furthermore, Starlink would have pointed out that among its already active customers "there are top-level Italian companies that use the system without problems on oil tankers in Africa or on bases in Antarctica."
KNOTS TO BE UNSOLVED
But there are some issues to be resolved regarding Starlink's participation in the broadband plans for Italy: first of all the satellite connectivity technology. Fiber "seems to provide better performance" at the moment, reiterates the Confindustria newspaper.
“And, last but not least, there is the question of guaranteeing a certain market balance in the face of the investments already started by the historic operators, starting with Tim which is at the center of the network split project with passage to the American fund Kkr and, with a minority share, to the government itself through the Ministry of Economy" adds Il Sole 24 Ore .
STILL NO DEAL
“According to some sources, in the talks with Open Fiber the possibility of using satellites to accelerate coverage in the white areas was also evaluated but, despite the good relations between Musk and Giorgia Meloni, part of the executive would have been against financing with the public funds for Starlink's advance in Italy" the Corriere reported last week.
THE ASSIST OF MINISTER SALVINI
As reported by the Confindustria newspaper, Andrea Stroppa, advisor to SpaceX, is following the American aerospace company in these institutional events. The latter "is also closely following the regulatory dispute with Tim who will be at the center of a technical table at the Ministry of Business on Tuesday".
And Stroppa himself on “Thank you,” Musk writes, commenting on a post which reports the passage from the interview in which Salvini states: “Having someone like Musk investing in Italy is important. And for Italy it is a great moment." In particular, the deputy prime minister defines Musk as "a fascinating person" and underlines how "as Minister of Infrastructure it would be very convenient for me to have Starlink in currently disconnected areas", referring precisely to the division of the SpaceX company that provides satellite Internet connectivity.
And it is precisely the support of Minister Salvini that is convenient for Elon Musk's company for the backhauling of infrastructure in the question of Starlink's participation in broadband plans.
And according to what Il Sole reports, for now the dialogue with the executive has not resulted in an agreement. “Within the government, from what has been reconstructed, there would not be a single line”. “The request for some technical updates has also recently arrived from the executive” adds the newspaper.
THE CONSEQUENCES
Finally, what is certain is that the outcome of this dispute will have repercussions in a sector that will soon be crowded: other satellite constellations are planned by OneWeb and Amazon with the Kuiper project, while the European Union is preparing to launch the system Iris2 starting in 2027.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/perche-starlink-terrorizza-open-fiber-e-tim/ on Mon, 08 Apr 2024 13:14:03 +0000.