Broadband provider TransACT will be the third contender to design, build and operate the National Broadband Network (NBN) in a rival bid against Telstra and the Optus led Terria group.

The company confirmed it is constructing a bid for the National Broadband Network (NBN) which will position it as a rival against Terria, of which it is a member.

A TransACT spokesperson speaking to Computerworld said the company will follow up on its $5 million bond to secure Telstra's secretive network data with a plan to deploy a national fibre network.

While more than six organisations have placed the $5 million bond to secure Telstra's data, critical to formulate an NBN bid, only three have confirmed intentions to vie for the national roll out.

Others including the Acacia group, Optus and the Tasmanian government could deploy single-state broadband networks.

The spokesperson said Terria, Telstra and TransACT are the only organisations at present who have the financial backing to deploy an NBN.

Bids will only be considered on a national, or state-by-state basis, according to tender documents.

Interest has also been expressed from international organisations including Deutsche Telekom and Canadian network supplier Axia Netmedia.

TransACT could not elaborate on the specifics of the bid because of a government mandated gag policy.

Costings for a national fibre network range between $8 billion and $20 billion with $4.7 billion in government funding.