At least that is what Telstra CEO, David Thodey said during a full financial year results meeting in August.

"On LTE, cost per bit is significantly lower than HSPA+ networks so it's all about efficiency of carrying data on the network," he said at the time. "LTE is just far more efficient technology in terms of your cost base.

"... For us to be able to maintain margins in the market, we need to be driving cost down on our network."

By mid-September, Optus, which had been holding its LTE cards very close to its chest, finally unveiled plans for its 4G LTE network.

Like Telstra, Optus will be deploying its network on the 1800MHz spectrum with phase one to begin in Newcastle, Port Stephens, the Hunter Valley and Lake Macquarie.