Vodafone Australia: Ericsson order worth A$500 mln

MELBOURNE, March 7 (Reuters) - Vodafone Group's (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Australian unit said on Friday that a contract for upgraded broadband technology with Sweden's Ericsson (ERICb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) was worth up to A$500 million ($463 million).

A Vodafone Australia spokesman said the rollout would begin in weeks rather than months.

Telecom equipment maker Ericsson said on Thursday it had won the contract to deliver HSPA hardware and software for an upgrade of Vodafone's 3G network in Australia. It gave no value for the deal (see [ID:nSAT005022] for more).

Vodafone is adding between 12,000 and 15,000 mobile broadband subscribers a month in Australia and has a total of 60,000, still far behind market leader Telstra Corp Ltd (TLS.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) which has more than 700,000 mobile broadband users. ($1=A$1.08) (Reporting by Victoria Thieberger)