If you’ve heard about Verizon Wireless’ “new” XLTE 4G LTE service announced this week, don’t get too excited, because it isn’t really new. Rather, XLTE is just the carrier’s attempt at a consumer-friendly way of rebranding its AWS and 700MHz spectrums, which it uses as a backup during heavy wireless “traffic” periods. What that means for you is that XLTE will deliver faster data speeds and at least double the bandwidth during times of heavy usage.
Since XLTE isn’t a new network, the service is already available to customers in most major metro areas and smaller cities in the United States. You can see a list here in PDF format.
Verizon says that more than 35 percent of all devices operating on its network support XLTE, and “nearly all” of the devices it currently sells. That includes Apple’s iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S; as well as popular Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5, and Galaxy Note 3.
You can see if your device supports the network here.
If your 4G Verizon device only supports the 700 MHz spectrum, Verizon says that you’ll still benefit from the extra bandwidth capacity created by other users’ XLTE devices are juggled to the AWS spectrum during peak usage times. Such busy periods include rush hour, lunch times in crowded areas, and during events.
Last October, Sprint made a similar rebranding play when it “launched” its Spark service. That announcement was nothing more than a way for Sprint to brand its devices’ ability to work between three bands — one from the defunct Nextel network and two others from the carrier’s Clearwire acquisition.
