Just as expected, Verizon today announced the official launch of its XLTE service. XLTE offers double the bandwidth of Verizon’s regular 4G LTE network where the carrier has deployed AWS spectrum, and the service also offers faster peak data speeds.
Devices that are deemed “XLTE Ready” can automatically access both Verizon’s 700MHz and AWS LTE coverage. However, the Big Red carrier says that even customers with hardware that can only access its 700MHz LTE coverage will benefit from the XLTE service, as there will be extra spectrum freed up on that band from the customers moving to AWS coverage.
Verizon says that “nearly all” of its devices are XLTE Ready. The carrier specifically called out the newest Droid phones, the Galaxy S 4, Galaxy S5, Note 3, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s as being fully-compatible with the XLTE service. In total, around 35 percent of the devices currently running on Verizon’s network will be able to take advantage of the AWS-enhanced coverage.
As I mentioned previously, Verizon’s 4G LTE network has been around for several years now, meaning that Ol’ Red’s got quite a few folks on that service. That has caused the network to become congested at times, which results in slower data speeds. Enhancing the service with AWS spectrum will add more capacity and should bring speeds back up for most users.
UPDATE: Below is a full list of markets in which Verizon XLTE is currently available.
Alabama
- Birmingham
- Decatur
- Florence
- Mobile
- Montgomery
- Tuscaloosa
Arizona
- Flagstaff
- Phoenix
- Prescott
- Tucson
Arkansas
- El Dorado-Magnolia
- Fayetteville-Springdale
- Fort Smith
- Hot Springs
- Jonesboro
- Little Rock
- Russellville
California
- Bakersfield
- Chico-Oroville
- Fresno
- Los Angeles
- Merced
- Modesto
- Redding
- Sacramento
- San Diego
- San Francisco - Oakland - San Jose
- San Luis Obispo
- Santa Barbara
- Stockton
- Visalia-Porterville
- Yuba City-Marysville
Colorado
- Colorado Springs
- Denver
- Fort Collins
- Greeley
- Pueblo
Connecticut
- Greater Fairfield and New Haven
- Hartford
- New London County
Delaware
- Dover
- Fort Myers
- Fort Pierce-Vero Beach
District of Columbia
Florida
- Beach
- Gainesville
- Lakeland-Winter Haven
- Melbourne-Titusville
- Miami-Ft. Lauderdale
- Orlando
- Pensacola
- Sarasota-Bradenton
- Tallahassee
- Tampa-St. Petersburg
- West Palm Beach
Georgia
- Athens
- Atlanta
- Augusta
- Columbus
Hawaii
Illinois
- Bloomington
- Carbondale
- Champaign-Urbana
- Chicago
- Danville
- Decatur-Effingham
- Kankakee
- La Salle-Peru-Ottawa
- Mattoon
- Peoria
- Rockford
- Springfield
Indiana
- Anderson
- Bloomington-Bedford
- Columbus
- Elkhart
- Evansville
- Indianapolis
- Kokomo-Logansport
- Lafayette
- Marion
- Richmond
- South Bend-Mishawaka
- Terre Haute
- Vincennes-Washington
Iowa
- Cedar Rapids
- Des Moines
- Sioux City
- Blackfoot
- Burley
- Pocatello
Kansas
- Dodge City
- Garden City
- Hays
- Manhattan-Junction City
- McPherson
- Salina
- Topeka
- Wichita
Kentucky
Louisiana
- Baton Rouge
- Lake Charles
- Monroe
- New Orleans
- Shreveport
Maryland
Massachusetts
- Boston
- Hyannis-Mid-Cape
- Pittsfield
- Springfield
- Worcester-Fitchburg
Michigan
- Benton Harbor
- Detroit
- Flint
- Grand Rapids
- Houghton
- Lansing
Minnesota
- Bemidji
- Brainerd
- Duluth
- Fergus Falls-Alexandria
- Minneapolis-St. Paul
- Rochester
- St. Cloud
Missouri
- Jefferson City
- Kansas City
- St. Joseph
Montana
Nebraska
- Grand Island-Kearney
- Lincoln
- North Platte
- Omaha
- Scottsbluff
Nevada
New Hampshire
- Manchester-Nashua
- New Jersey
- Atlantic City
New Mexico
New York
- Albany
- Binghamton
- Buffalo
- Elmira-Corning-Hornell
- Ithaca
- New York
- Rochester
- Syracuse
- Utica
North Carolina
- Asheville
- Charlotte-Gastonia
- Fayetteville-Lumberton
- Raleigh-Durham
- Wilmington
North Dakota
- Bismarck
- Dickinson
- Fargo
- Grand Forks
- Minot
- Williston
Ohio
- Canton
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland-Akron
- Columbus
- Dayton-Springfield
- Findlay-Tiffin
- Lima
- Mansfield
- Marion
- Portsmouth
- Toledo
Oklahoma
- Bartlesville
- Lawton
- Liberal
- Oklahoma City
- Tulsa
Oregon
- Eugene-Springfield
- Portland
- Salem-Albany-Corvallis
Pennsylvania
- Allentown-Bethlehem
- Altoona
- Erie
- Harrisburg
- Indiana
- Lancaster
- Pittsburgh
- Reading
- Scranton-Wilkes Barre
- Shamokin
- Sharon
- State College
- Stroudsburg
- Williamsport
- York
Rhode Island
South Carolina
- Charleston
- Columbia
- Florence
- Greenville-Spartanburg
- Greenwood
- Myrtle Beach
South Dakota
- Aberdeen
- Rapid City
- Sioux Falls
Tennessee
- Chattanooga
- Cleveland
- Cookeville
- Dyersburg
- Jackson
- Knoxville
- Memphis
- 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
- Wichita Falls
Utah
- Logan
- Provo
- Salt Lake City-Ogden
Virginia
- Charlottesville
- Fredericksburg
- Greater Hampton Roads
- Harrisonburg
- Richmond
- Roanoke
- Winchester
Washington
- Longview
- Olympia
- Seattle-Tacoma
- Spokane
Wisconsin
- Appleton-Oshkosh
- Eau Claire
- Fond du Lac
- Green Bay
Via Verizon Wireless
