Verizon’s “XLTE” could offer double the bandwidth of 4G LTE

Verizon has been widening its LTE data pipes for months, and it now looks like the carrier is ready to take full advantage of that extra headroom. An early TV ad and details from both Droid-Life and @evleaks have revealed plans to offer its improved 4G speeds under the “XLTE” banner. Reportedly, the badging represents a promise of improved performance in areas where Verizon has added AWS wireless spectrum; if you live in an XLTE region, you’ll get double the bandwidth and higher peak speeds. Given that those who live in test areas have already noticed big performance boosts, that may be a realistic claim.

We’ve already heard of some plans for Verizon’s XLTE, which will be the new brand for the AWS spectrum Verizon has acquired to offset the load on its current LTE network. With so many people on Verizon’s massive LTE service, speeds haven’t been as fast as they should be in some regions. XLTE should help bring those speeds back up. According to the latest leak, Verizon will advertise XLTE as having double the bandwidth of 4G LTE. If this is true, it’s a very impressive statistic. With double the bandwidth, Verizon could regain its title as the fastest provider of LTE in the US. According to previous rumors, Verizon will announce this XLTE network on May 19th. The first supported devices will be the Galaxy S5 and the HTC One (M8), both of which will receive an update to gain support. By the end of 2014, Verizon is expected to have XLTE in 50 markets.