The WiMax Forum, a lobby promoting WiMax (worldwide interoperability for microwave access) technology, today said it is more effective than other competing technologies in helping the country achieve its goal of having 100 million broadband users by 2014.

The forum said the WiMax, which is a telecommunication technology that provides fixed and fully mobile Internet access, will help the country to achieve its broadband target faster as competing technologies are yet not ready.

"WiMax can add 50-60 million subscribers in the next 24 months. Since the ecosystem and devices are ready at affordable rates it can be implemented sooner than any other technology like TD-LTE or 4G," WiMax Forum chairman CS Rao told reporters here today.

He further said TD-LTE (long-term evolution) will take three years to be commercially ready. As such the TD-LTE technology will slow the broadband growth in the country.

Players like Qualcomm had put in bids for BWA (broadband wireless access) spectrum, which is generally used for offering WiMax services that enables fixed or fully mobile Internet access, for rolling out another competing technology--TD-LTE.

TD-LTE is beyond the third generation mobile broadband standard and is usually referred to as 4G. The auctions for BWA spectrum is due on April 11