Nokia and ICEYE will launch the first satellites of a new sovereign low Earth orbit (LEO) communications network in 2028, the two companies announced this week, targeting government and defence customers that want full ownership of their space assets.

The Finnish network equipment vendor and the radar satellite operator will jointly develop LEO systems that governments can own and operate end-to-end — covering satellites, ground systems and user terminals — rather than lease capacity from third-party commercial providers.

What does the partnership cover?

Nokia will contribute its secure networking and communications technology. ICEYE will supply the space segment, drawing on its experience building and operating radar satellites. The combined offering is positioned to sit alongside — not replace — existing military and commercial satellite networks, giving subscribing governments an additional layer of sovereign-controlled connectivity across land, sea, air and space.

ICEYE Chief Executive and Co-Founder Rafal Modrzewski framed the deal as a response to dependency on foreign operators. "Together with Nokia, we are building on our proven space intelligence expertise and delivering sovereign, high-performance satellite communications," he said. "Nations must be able to fully own and control their communications, without dependency on a foreign commercial operator's terms of service. We delivered Poland its own radar satellite system in under a year. Partnering with Nokia lets us move at a similar speed for satellite communications, on the timelines nations need."

Why 2028, and what changes for buyers?

The 2028 target sets a concrete delivery date for a market segment that has so far been dominated by commercial LEO constellations operated by non-sovereign providers. Under the Nokia–ICEYE architecture, a subscribing government would control the satellites, ground systems and terminals outright — a model closer to national satellite programmes than to commercial capacity purchases.

Nokia President and Chief Executive Justin Hotard tied the deal to the broader push for "physical AI" in defence operations. "Sovereign operations depend on the ability to sense, decide and act in real time," he said. "Physical AI makes that possible, but only with secure, resilient connectivity across land, sea, air and space. By bringing together Nokia's trusted networks with ICEYE's proven sovereign space capabilities, we will deliver a satellite communications capability — complementing existing terrestrial networks, and giving nations the situational awareness, connectivity, and control they need to operate with confidence in contested environments across all domains."

What is the regulatory backdrop?

The agreement lands as European governments accelerate spending on sovereign space infrastructure and resilient communications. ICEYE's reference customer, Poland, took delivery of a national radar satellite in under twelve months — a benchmark Modrzewski explicitly cited as the delivery tempo Nokia and ICEYE intend to match for the new communications service.

Neither company disclosed contract values, named an anchor customer, or specified the frequency bands, throughput targets or constellation size. The 2028 date covers the first satellites only; the cadence of subsequent launches and per-government pricing remain unspecified.

What to watch next

Government buyers have signalled rising demand for non-commercial satellite capacity. Watch for the first anchor-customer announcement and the chosen LEO orbital plane over the next twelve months, which will indicate whether the 2028 target is commercially backed or remains an engineering aspiration.