Verizon launches XLTE service for double the bandwidth in high-traffic locations

Verizon XLTE Ready (logo, small)

The nation’s top carrier Verizon Wireless on Monday announced it has started utilizing AWS spectrum to bring double-fast fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network in select U.S. markets.

Marketed under the XLTE moniker and launching today, the faster network can be used on XLTE-ready smartphone such as the iPhone 5s, Samsung’s Galaxy S5, the HTC One M8, BlackBerry Q10 and many others…

Verizon says XLTE delivers a minimum of double the 4G LTE bandwidth while providing faster peak speeds in cities coast to coast, which should help with the congested network in high-traffic locations.

You don’t have to do anything on your end: if XLTE is available in your area and your device supports it, you’ll automatically benefit from the increased throughput.

The speed increase should be especially evident during busy periods like rush hour, lunch times in crowded areas or during events when mobile data use is the highest.

XLTE-ready devices are listed here. In addition to the iPhone 5s, XLTE is also supported by the following Apple devices: the iPhone 5c and cellular versions of the iPad Air and the iPad mini with Retina display.

Verizon says that more than 35 percent of all the devices it sells can take advantage of the added capacity that AWS provides. These smartphones automatically access both 700 MHz spectrum and the AWS spectrum in XLTE cities.

Customers with 4G LTE devices operating solely on the 700 MHz spectrum in XLTE markets also benefit from the extra capacity created by XLTE Ready device traffic moving to the AWS spectrum.

Here’s Verizon’s promotional video for XLTE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxykILHZuIc

I have compiled the initial XLTE cities from Verizon’s PDF document and provided it here so you could quickly tell if the speedy network is available in your region.

Alabama (Birmingham, Decatur, Florence, Mobile, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa); Arizona (Flagstaff, Phoenix, Prescott and Tucson); Arkansas (El Dorado-Magnolia, Fayetteville-Springdale, Fort Smith, Hot Springs, Jonesboro, Little Rock and Russellville); California (Bakersfield, Chico-Oroville, Fresno, Los Angeles, Merced, Modesto, Oakland, Redding, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Stockton, Visalia-Porterville and Yuba City-Marysville); Colorado (Colorado Springs, Denver, Fort Collins, Greeley and Pueblo); Connecticut (Greater Fairfield and New Haven, Hartford and New London County); Delaware (Dover, Fort Myers and Fort Pierce-Vero Beach); District of Columbia (Washington DC); Florida (Gainesville, Lakeland-Winter Haven, Melbourne-Titusville, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Pensacola, Sarasota-Bradenton, Tallahassee, Tampa-St. Petersburg and West PalmBeach); Georgia (Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Hawaii, Honolulu and Kahului-Wailuku); Illinois (Bloomington, Carbondale, Champaign-Urbana, Chicago, Danville, Decatur-Effingham, Kankakee, La Salle-Peru-Ottawa, Mattoon, Peoria, Rockford and Springfield); Indiana (Anderson, Bloomington-Bedford, Columbus, Elkhart, Evansville, Indianapolis, Kokomo-Logansport, Lafayette, Marion, Richmond, South Bend-Mishawaka, Terre Haute and Vincennes-Washington); Iowa (Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Sioux City, Blackfoot, Burley and Pocatello); Kansas (Dodge City, Garden City, Hays, Manhattan-Junction City, McPherson, Salina, Topeka and Wichita); Kentucky (Lexington, Louisville, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Monroe, New Orleans and Shreveport); Maryland (Baltimore, Salisbury); Massachusetts (Boston, Hyannis-Mid-Cape, Pittsfield, Springfield ad Worcester-Fitchburg); Michigan (Benton Harbor, Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Houghton and Lansing); Minnesota (Bemidji, Brainerd, Duluth, Fergus Falls-Alexandria, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Rochester and St. Cloud); Missouri (Jefferson City, Kansas City and St. Joseph); Montana (Billings), Nebraska (Grand Island-Kearney, Lincoln, North Platte, Omaha and Scottsbluff); Nevada (Las Vegas and Reno); New Hampshire (Manchester-Nashua); New Jersey (Atlantic City); New Mexico (Albuquerque and Santa Fe); New York (Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Elmira-Corning-Hornell, Ithaca, New York, Rochester, Syracuse and Utica); North Carolina (Asheville, Charlotte-Gastonia, Fayetteville-Lumberton, Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington); North Dakota (Bismarck, Dickinson, Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot and Williston); Ohio (Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland-Akron, Columbus, Dayton-Springfield, Findlay-Tiffin, Lima, Mansfield, Marion, Portsmouth and Toledo); Oklahoma (Bartlesville, Lawton, Liberal, Oklahoma City and Tulsa); Oregon (Eugene-Springfield, Portland and Salem-Albany-Corvallis); Pennsylvania (Allentown-Bethlehem, Altoona, Erie, Harrisburg, Indiana, Lancaster, Pittsburgh, Reading, Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Shamokin, Sharon, State College, Stroudsburg, Williamsport and York); Rhode Island (Greater Providence); South Carolina (Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Greenville-Spartanburg, Greenwood and Myrtle Beach); South Dakota (Aberdeen, Rapid City and Sioux Falls); Tennessee (Chattanooga, Cleveland, Cookeville, Dyersburg, Jackson, Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville); Texas (Amarillo, Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Laredo, Longview-Marshall, Paris, San Antonio, Sherman-Denison, Temple-Killeen, Tyler, Waco and Wichita Falls); Utah (Logan, Provo and Salt Lake City-Ogden); Virginia (Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, Greater Hampton Roads, Harrisonburg, Richmond, Roanoke and Winchester); Washington (Longview, Olympia, Seattle-Tacoma and Spokane) and Wisconsin (Appleton-Oshkosh, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac and Green Bay).

Is XLTE available in your area?

If so, do you observe any speed gains on your device?