Fincantieri, one of the world’s leading shipbuilding groups, and Sparkle, the first international service provider in Italy and among the top global operators, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on the development of innovative technological solutions for the surveillance and protection of submarine telecommunications cables.

The agreement is part of a strategic vision for Italy’s technological development and international competitiveness, in which two excellences collaborate to ensure the resilience of infrastructures which are fundamental for digital connectivity and for the country’s technological growth.

Through shared and specialized work teams, Fincantieri and Sparkle will analyse the requirements for improving the security of undersea telecommunications infrastructures, identifying innovative technologies and solutions to ensure their operational resilience.

Fincantieri, with its expertise in the underwater domain, is developing advanced solutions for surveillance and protection of subsea infrastructure, combining its established know-how in the shipbuilding industry with cutting-edge technologies. The company considers the underwater sector as a key dimension for sustainable economic development, given the current geopolitical tensions and the increasing dependence on these strategic infrastructures. This collaboration strengthens Fincantieri’s position as a key player in the global market for underwater technological innovation.

With a proprietary fiber-optic network stretching more than 600,000 km across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Americas and Asia, of which 90% is laid on submarine cables, Sparkle has always been committed to the protection of these strategic infrastructures – fundamental to the country’s socioeconomic development and security – through their constant monitoring and the introduction of the most advanced physical and digital security systems. The agreement with Fincantieri is part of collaborations with major players in the sector, including the Italian Navy, with which Sparkle has been working since 2022 to protect its proprietary submarine cables and neighbouring areas, and the Polo Nazionale della dimensione Subacquea (PNS, Italian national hub of the underwater dimension) which brings together the national public and private excellences operating in the sector.

Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and General Director of Fincantieri, commented: “The agreement with Sparkle marks an important step in our technological development path in the protection of critical submarine infrastructure. We are ready to deploy our Group’s know-how to develop cutting-edge solutions that combine reliability and innovation. Thanks to this collaboration, in addition to strengthening our commitment to digital security, we concretize the development of civilian submarine alongside the military one, and project the role of Fincantieri and Italy as an industrial leader on an international scale, through synergies between national excellences.”

Enrico Maria Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle, said: “The agreement with Fincantieri represents a fundamental step in our mission to protect subsea infrastructures, which are pillars of global connectivity and national security. Our collaboration will combine outstanding expertise in the shipbuilding and telecommunications sectors to develop advanced technological solutions able to address the increasingly complex challenges of an interconnected world. Together, we will help strengthen the resilience of the country system and consolidate Italy’s position as an international leader in digital innovation and sustainability.”