diff --git a/subsys/net/ip/net_core.c b/subsys/net/ip/net_core.c
index 982fc413f03..fe37c75d97c 100644
--- a/subsys/net/ip/net_core.c
+++ b/subsys/net/ip/net_core.c
@@ -549,6 +549,8 @@ static inline int services_init(void)
 {
 	int status;
 
+	socket_service_init();
+
 	status = net_dhcpv4_init();
 	if (status) {
 		return status;
diff --git a/subsys/net/ip/net_private.h b/subsys/net/ip/net_private.h
index 853e50228d9..cb4c32c3a28 100644
--- a/subsys/net/ip/net_private.h
+++ b/subsys/net/ip/net_private.h
@@ -71,6 +71,12 @@ extern int net_icmp_call_ipv6_handlers(struct net_pkt *pkt,
 
 extern struct net_if *net_ipip_get_virtual_interface(struct net_if *input_iface);
 
+#if defined(CONFIG_NET_SOCKETS_SERVICE)
+extern void socket_service_init(void);
+#else
+static inline void socket_service_init(void) { }
+#endif
+
 #if defined(CONFIG_NET_NATIVE) || defined(CONFIG_NET_OFFLOAD)
 extern void net_context_init(void);
 extern const char *net_context_state(struct net_context *context);
diff --git a/subsys/net/lib/sockets/Kconfig b/subsys/net/lib/sockets/Kconfig
index d74de6aee16..5805eb7e4c8 100644
--- a/subsys/net/lib/sockets/Kconfig
+++ b/subsys/net/lib/sockets/Kconfig
@@ -143,11 +143,6 @@ config NET_SOCKETS_SERVICE_STACK_SIZE
 	help
 	  Set the internal stack size for the thread that polls sockets.
 
-config NET_SOCKETS_SERVICE_INIT_PRIO
-	int "Startup priority for the network socket service"
-	default 90
-	depends on NET_SOCKETS_SERVICE
-
 config NET_SOCKETS_SOCKOPT_TLS
 	bool "TCP TLS socket option support"
 	imply TLS_CREDENTIALS
diff --git a/subsys/net/lib/sockets/sockets_service.c b/subsys/net/lib/sockets/sockets_service.c
index 185a75359f8..1c1d1062409 100644
--- a/subsys/net/lib/sockets/sockets_service.c
+++ b/subsys/net/lib/sockets/sockets_service.c
@@ -314,4 +314,7 @@ static int init_socket_service(void)
 	return 0;
 }
 
-SYS_INIT(init_socket_service, APPLICATION, CONFIG_NET_SOCKETS_SERVICE_INIT_PRIO);
+void socket_service_init(void)
+{
+	(void)init_socket_service();
+}
diff --git a/subsys/shell/backends/Kconfig.backends b/subsys/shell/backends/Kconfig.backends
index c433e1f1013..78bf1001ebd 100644
--- a/subsys/shell/backends/Kconfig.backends
+++ b/subsys/shell/backends/Kconfig.backends
@@ -470,7 +470,7 @@ if SHELL_BACKEND_TELNET
 config SHELL_TELNET_INIT_PRIORITY
 	int "Initialization priority"
 	default 95
-	range NET_SOCKETS_SERVICE_INIT_PRIO 99
+	range 0 99
 	help
 	  Initialization priority for telnet shell backend. This must be higher
 	  than socket service initialization priority, as socket service has to
diff --git a/subsys/shell/backends/shell_telnet.c b/subsys/shell/backends/shell_telnet.c
index 473f58e36ee..64afba96e12 100644
--- a/subsys/shell/backends/shell_telnet.c
+++ b/subsys/shell/backends/shell_telnet.c
@@ -787,10 +787,6 @@ static int enable_shell_telnet(void)
 	return shell_init(&shell_telnet, NULL, cfg_flags, log_backend, level);
 }
 
-BUILD_ASSERT(CONFIG_SHELL_TELNET_INIT_PRIORITY > CONFIG_NET_SOCKETS_SERVICE_INIT_PRIO,
-	     "CONFIG_SHELL_TELNET_INIT_PRIORITY must be higher than "
-	     "CONFIG_NET_SOCKETS_SERVICE_INIT_PRIO");
-
 SYS_INIT(enable_shell_telnet, APPLICATION, CONFIG_SHELL_TELNET_INIT_PRIORITY);
 
 const struct shell *shell_backend_telnet_get_ptr(void)