There is a vested interest for the others to look for collaboration in order to grow their total position... that is not an issue for Telstra," Budde said.

"Some of the ides coming from Axia Net Media and Acacia could well be included [in the NBN]. Different approaches could well be adopted by the government if the expert group sees it as beneficiary for the country."

Budde said Acacia's open-access network model will gain traction as pressure increases on government to emulate open-access networks developing in other countries.

IBRS analyst Guy Cranswick said the economic crisis is the biggest problem facing NBN bidders.

"I don't think 98 percent [coverage] is feasible for any period of time -- even in the United Kingdom they still can't make 98 percent reach," Cranswick said.