The satellite Internet services giant Starlink, owned by Elon Musk, accuses Tim of hindering the launch of its high-speed network in Italy, a criticism rejected by the operator.
The news was published for the first time since Bloombergwhich cites a complaint presented at the end of last week to the Communications Regulatory Authority (AGCOM) and the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy.
Starlink, according to the legal document cited by the US newspaper, claims that “for months Telecom Italia SpA has not respected the rules requiring the operator to share spectrum data in order to avoid frequency interference with its equipment”. On his part, however, Tim spoke of a “partial reconstruction of the facts which does not take into account the discussions still underway”.
However, in the complaint Elon Musk's company claims that the lack of access to data is seriously slowing down the implementation of the new gateway equipment owned by Starlink.
Unlike other operators, we read in the document, Telecom Italia “clearly informed Starlink that it did not want to coordinate” and did not share the data necessary for the development of its satellite Internet network. This, according to the company, could also cause service interruptions in some areas of southern Europe and North Africa, partially dependent on equipment installed by Starlink in Italy.
The company, which provides broadband Internet through a network of approximately 5,500 satellites launched into orbit starting from 2019 by Elon Musk's SpaceX, therefore invited the ministry led by Adolfo Urso to push Telecom Italia to cooperate with Starlink which, otherwise, threatens to divert its investments from Italy to other European countries.
According to the complaint, the first contacts between the two companies date back to mid-October. Subsequently, again according to the document cited by BloombergTelecom Italia allegedly refused Starlink access to the data, claiming that Elon Musk's company is not authorized, for technical reasons, to access certain frequencies.
For the moment, AGCOM has not commented on the news, while it is intervened on the issue the Minister of Business and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, according to whom the government will “immediately participated in a discussion and coordination table between Tim and Starlink to find a solution that can allow the two technologies to coexist as best as possible, as required by law”.
“As a ministry, we must guarantee the parties and therefore TIM, the data and information it possesses and at the same time allow actors such as Starlink and others to use this new technology for the benefit of all,” said Urso on the sidelines of the presentation of the Day on Made in Italy. “The ministry will be the protagonist in mediation and discussion between the actors and in identifying a better solution that can guarantee the national interest”.
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