Vodafone Australia says it is on track to extend its new AUD500 million HSPA network to 95 percent of the country’s population by the first half of this year despite the recent problems concerning its equipment supplier, Ericsson. Australian IT reports that Vodafone and Ericsson are currently working through “some final legal technicalities” before issuing a new timetable. Vodafone was originally intended to release the new schedule last month but the deadline passed with no update. “Vodafone and Ericsson are currently completing negotiations on the practical completion of the national network upgrade, which have a bearing on the impending release of detailed information to the market,” a Vodafone spokesperson said. He added that the rollout plans were unaffected by the operator’s recent merger with 3 Australia.

Vodafone had originally intended to reach the 95 percent target by the end of 2008, but announced a delay in the rollout last October citing Ericsson as responsible. Australian IT notes that Ericsson may have faced a hefty financial penalty for failing to honour the original timeline. Vodafone’s 3G network currently covers 63 percent of the Australian population, whilst its 2G network covers 94.5 percent. Rivals Optus and Telstra both claim to have already achieved HSPA network coverage of 96 percent and 99 percent, respectively.