Despite the minor hiccup due to legal technicalities with Ericsson, Vodafone says its target to complete the 3G network rollout in Australia by the first half of 2009 is on track.
Vodafone had originally set a self-imposed deadline of Christmas to extend its 3G network footprint to 95% of the country, up from 58% of the population. However, Ericsson struggled to integrate the new network on to the carrier’s existing live network, and now the two companies are working through some final legal technicalities before the new timetable is revealed.
It is understood that Ericsson may have faced a financial penalty for failing to honour the original timeline.
Finally, the Vodafone spokesperson said the imminent merger between Vodafone and Hutchison’s 3 in the country had no impact on the network upgrade.
[Via: Australian IT]