Europe in good shape for 3G despite costs -Nokia CEO

European telecoms operators are in a good position for the eventual launch of 3G wireless networks despite the steep prices paid for licences, Finland's Nokia said on Tuesday.

``European operators are in good shape despite the wildly high licence costs paid for licences in some countries,'' Nokia Chief Executive Jorma Ollila told a mobile phone seminar in Helsinki.

Ollila also reiterated earlier company comments that he saw no threat to the European market from the eventual entry of Japanese third-generation handset makers.

He did not elaborate on why he considered European operators were well-placed -- although the European Union on Tuesday provided some relief for them, saying it backed the sharing of network infrastructure to ease operators' financial burdens.

And last week Nokia -- the world's largest mobile phone maker -- calmed markets by reiterating its first-quarter earnings guidance in the face of a wave of downgrades by its peers.

Telecom operators have spent tens of billions of euros (dollars) on 3G licences, and will spend billions more on building networks, with their shares sinking as a result of soaring debt levels and ensuing reevaluations of future demand.

Shares in operators have also slumped on the slowing of the rapid growth in the mobile phone industry and the delay in the start-up of high-speed GPRS networks -- a stepping stone to 3G -- and 3G itself.

Third-generation networks were originally forecast to be up and running across Europe by early 2002, but while networks may technically be ready in some countries, neither handsets nor services will be available by that time.

Japan's NTT DoCoMo is set to launch 3G in May even though only two of its 11 handset makers will have models available.

Nokia, which analysts expect will release GPRS phone models at the CeBIT tech fair in Hanover this week, has said it aims to release its third-generation phones in volumes in the fourth quarter of 2002.