But is Musk’s Starlink really pro-Russian?
A Tim-branded document attacks Musk for failing to deactivate the Starlink terminals used by Russia. But is SpaceX really close to Moscow? Or is Tim trying to eliminate a competitor in the broadband industry? What Italian pro-Musk circles are whispering about
The Italian document on the use of the Starlink system by Russian troops – which Startmag revealed and whose origin La Stampa confirmed: Tim – could undermine future relations between the Meloni government and Elon Musk and perhaps hinder those investments that Palazzo Is Chigi interested in attracting? This is the question that many people ask themselves today and to which Italian pro-Musk people tend to answer yes.
Yet between Meloni and Musk there seems to be a certain personal and ideological affinity: the entrepreneur has visited our country several times and also participated in Atreju , the political event of Fratelli d'Italia, where he insisted on the importance of demographic growth and declared that “Italy is a good place to invest”. A significant assist, given that Musk is the richest man in the world and head of innovative and successful companies.
In December Il Sole 24 Ore – reported by Startmag – reported on Musk's approach to bring the Starlink satellite system to Italy and include it in ultra-broadband projects, to integrate the coverage of Open Fiber and Tim. A "very complicated" attempt, the newspaper specified, and which could perhaps become further complicated given the circulation of the TIM document.
ALL CONTACTS BETWEEN THE MELONI GOVERNMENT AND ELON MUSK
Last November 30, Business Minister Adolfo Urso wrote in X that he had had a telephone conversation with Musk "in which we addressed a series of topics, starting from space and new frontier technologies. Ready to collaborate on the challenges of the future."
On December 16, Meloni herself revealed on On the same day, Musk also met with Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini to talk, among other things , about fast Internet.
In January, SpaceX guaranteed the attachment to the International Space Station of Axiom's Ax-3 mission, piloted by Italian Colonel Walter Villadei: "it is an important day for the history of the Italian space sector, which this year celebrates 60 years since the launch of the first Italian satellite, one of the first in the world. We are protagonists of the new era with our astronauts and with our businesses, the pride of Made in Italy", commented Minister Urso on that occasion.
More recently, contacts between the government and Musk's staff have allowed Urso to indicate Tesla among the car manufacturers that could open factories in Italy to balance the disengagement of Stellantis.
In short: Musk and his companies prove useful to the government in promoting its image, pro-Musk circles in Italy are currently underlining. Already in May 2023, however, there was a lot of talk about the purchase of Starlink terminals by the Unipol group to provide Internet access in the areas of Emilia-Romagna affected by the flood . Andrea Stroppa, Musk's key collaborator for Italy (as well as being close to Unipol ), had highly publicized the Unipol-Starlink collaboration on X.
An articulated lorry of Starlink terminals has arrived in Emilia Romagna
. Unipol is already working to configure them. Getting hospitals, medical centers, rescuers, but also small and medium businesses back online is the priority. More updates later today pic.twitter.com/GpvED6USuD
—Andrea Stroppa
Claudius Nero's Legion
TIM RUSSIES ABOUT AMERICAN SPACEX? NEVERTHELESS…
The Tim document would tend to advocate an incompatibility between Starlink and the Italian telecommunications sector, given the emphasis on the failure to deactivate the terminals used by Russian forces in Ukraine.
The accusation of aiding Russia, however, does not seem to hold up because SpaceX is closely linked to the US military-industrial complex, to the point of having been awarded at least one large secret contract, as the Wall Street Journal recently reported.
Furthermore, the KKR fund is also American and will purchase the TIM network , a strategic infrastructure, with the approval of the Ministry of Economy, which will hold a minority share of NetCo, the future network company. KKR does not disdain SpaceX, given that last August it bought a minority share of a German company, OHB, which sources space technologies from Musk's company.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/starlink-russia-rapporti-musk-governo-meloni/ on Fri, 08 Mar 2024 15:14:50 +0000.