Telespazio teams with Musk's SpaceX for Starlink services

ROME (Reuters) - Telespazio, a joint venture between Italian defence and aerospace group Leonardo and French peer Thales, has signed an agreement with Elon Musk's SpaceX to commercialise the services of its satellite unit Starlink, it said on Thursday.

SpaceX's Starlink owns around 60% of the roughly 7,500 satellites orbiting earth and is a dominant player in the satellite internet sphere.

Its satellites in low-earth orbit are designed to provide broadband internet services globally, particularly in areas, such as rural ones, that are poorly served by other networks.

Under the deal, Telespazio will integrate Starlink into its existing connectivity network, made up of satellite and terrestrial options.

The accord "further strengthens Telespazio's portfolio in the satcom segment, allowing it to respond to the needs of institutions and strategic industry segments, such as the energy and maritime sectors," said Alessandro Caranci, Telespazio's Vice President for Satellite Communications.

Telespazio was recently fully consolidated into state-controlled Leonardo, part of a broader push by the group to invest in space as one of the pillars of its strategy.

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Gianluca Semeraro and Keith Weir)