Verizon Officially Unveils 'XLTE' Speed, Capacity Upgrades

Confirming leaks from the last several weeks, Verizon today announced the company's new "XLTE" branded speed upgrades, powered by the AWS spectrum Verizon has started utilizing in a growing number of markets. Verizon acquired that spectrum from the cable industry back in 2011, and since last year has been using it to bolster their existing LTE network.

The lab results on an unloaded network have shown 80 Mbps down and 15 Mbps up, improving both overall capacity and per user speed. Some markets may see a speed bump, though some markets may only see capacity improvements. It will depend on Verizon's spectrum assets and the user load in that particular area.

"The industry and tech world recognize this is a big deal, and we want consumers to know, too," proclaims Ken Dixon, chief marketing officer of Verizon Wireless. “We continue to offer the very best network, bar none. Now, XLTE provides an even greater advantage to customers by doubling the 4G LTE bandwidth and providing faster peak speeds in cities coast to coast.”

XLTE is largely a marketing endeavor; we'll have to see just what kind of improvements users see in the real world (and in many of the LTE speed tests Verizon has been falling behind in). Verizon states that the improvements have already been deployed in half of the company's markets nationwide so we shouldn't have to wait long.