Nokia announced a partnership with Iceye on 1 October to develop low-Earth-orbit satellite communications systems for governments. The project is described as secure, sovereign, and resilient, with high bandwidth and low latency (via www.zdnet.fr).
It is meant to help states and emergency services keep critical communications running in military theaters and in areas hit by natural disasters.
Ownership, terminals, and the 2028 launch target
Nokia and Iceye said the jointly developed systems would give nations ownership and control of the satellites, ground segment, and terminals. The first communication satellites are expected to launch in 2028.
Open Cosmos sets out a larger LEO build
Open Cosmos plans to deploy a constellation of 192 interconnected low-Earth-orbit satellites for a secure and sovereign communications network independent of ground stations and international undersea cables.
The company aims to put more than 96 satellites into orbit by the end of 2028 and reach full global coverage by 2030.
SES, Orange, and the rest of the European field
SES said in mid-September that it wants to build low-Earth-orbit satellites for direct-to-device mobile service, and it paired that plan with Elveo, a U.S. company formed this summer from the merger of Lynk Global and Omnispace.
Orange has a partnership with Telesat. On 17 September, Orange inaugurated the first European gateway for Telesat Lightspeed at the Bercenay-en-Othe teleport in France, and Orange said the gateway will provide high availability and low latency for critical applications.
Orange also launched Message Satellite with Skylo, a service that lets users send and receive SMS in areas not covered by mobile networks. It then signed an agreement with AST SpaceMobile and Satellite Connect Europe to conduct space-based connectivity tests in Romania in the second half of the year, covering voice, SMS, and data exchange.
Univity said it does not aim to bypass telecom operators and instead wants to offer space-based connectivity to complement 4G and 5G coverage. Kinéis is deploying a constellation of nanosatellites dedicated to the Internet of Things and aims to provide low-bandwidth satellite connectivity for connected sensors in precision agriculture, logistics tracking, and natural-risk prevention.
Droam Perspective
For government buyers, the Nokia-Iceye plan is not a finished network but a disclosed build sequence with a launch target, an ownership model, and a stated operational scope. The point of the announcement is that nations would own and control the space, ground, and terminal pieces, with the service pitched for crisis and military use. Open Cosmos sits in the same sovereign-comms lane, but at a much larger satellite count and with a 2030 global-coverage target.
For operators and infrastructure teams, Orange’s activity shows how satellite work is being split across gateway builds, SMS services, and direct-to-device testing. SES is pursuing direct-to-device through Elveo, while Orange is already tying together Telesat, Skylo, and AST SpaceMobile in separate moves.