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Telstra has said it is looking at an 18 per cent after-tax return on its investment in National Broadband Network with Optus claiming 12 per cent was a far more realistic figure.

"It's not like Telstra has a monopoly forever and a day said Egan who also noted that Terria would be lodging its $5million bond for the tender by Friday's deadline.

And to add a bit more spice to the mix, last week Macquarie Group said it was also preparing a bid for the network lead by a former senior Telstra executive, Ted Pretty.

Getting back to the G9 consortium, the name apparently comes from the word Terra Australis and is pronounced the same as the breed of dog.