Italy to test Starlink in January in bid to boost high-speed internet, sources say

By Elvira Pollina and Giuseppe Fonte

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy plans to begin tests as early as January to see if the satellite-based connectivity offered by Elon Musk's Starlink is a viable solution to boosting the rollout of high-speed internet in the country, two sources close to the matter said.

Officials in Giorgia Meloni's right wing government are increasingly worried about missing broadband network targets set under the European Union-funded Recovery Plan.

The tests are part of a pilot project, with the results expected as early as March, and will be open to several companies including Starlink, the people said.

They aim to verify whether the standards required by the internet plan can also be met by a combination of satellite and fibre connections, they added.

State-backed fibre-optic firms Open Fiber and its rival FiberCop have cabled around a third of the 3.4 million buildings targeted by the 3.4 billion euro ($3.60 billion) Italian plan, which is due to be completed by June 2026.

The risk of delays are partly linked to difficulties in connecting some 450,000 buildings spread across small settlements outside more populated areas.

Starlink, part of Musk's SpaceX aerospace business, has 6,700 active satellites orbiting Earth, providing low-latency broadband to more than four million customers across the globe, of which about 55,000 are in Italy.

Under the view of Cabinet Undersecretary Alessio Butti, operators in charge of Italy's high-speed internet rollout programme could also consider satellite-based internet systems in the mix to meet coverage goals, the sources said.

Under such a scheme, so-called Starlink community gateways could be deployed in some of the most remote areas to provide wholesale capacity and possibly enabling fibre operators to only cable the last-mile of fibre to homes, the people said.

Italy's high-speed coverage plan aims to guarantee 1 gigabit per second download speeds during peak hours, which Starlink was unable to meet in Italy when the 2021 coverage plan tender was designed, a third person said.

It remains to be seen whether the operators in charge of the rollout would assess any alternative option as an effective and affordable backup solution to fill any gap in their coverage plan and save time.

Plans to involve Musk in broadband rollout triggered criticism from the opposition parties, who fear putting Italy's cybersecurity in the hands of a foreign, non-EU group.

Antonio Nicita, of the opposition Democratic Party (PD), tabled an amendment in parliament to prevent Musk from playing a role in the internet plan.

The proposed legislation states that groups controlling online platforms such as Musk's X cannot provide wholesale and retail connectivity services, including satellite connectivity, on Italian territory.

($1 = 0.9452 euros)

(Reporting by Elvira Pollina and Giuseppe Fonte; Editing by Susan Fenton)