XLTE, Verizon’s “new” data offering, is now live. Those in several states covering roughly half of Verizon’s current LTE footprint can already take advantage, and the new service covers a lot of exisiting handsets as well. Customers who have an appropriate handset in an XLTE market should notice faster data transfers and better overall performance.
XLTE isn’t necessarily new, but an improvement over existing LTE technology. Verizon improved the limitations present with LTE, giving us a wider pipeline to access the things we want. Now we’ll enjoy faster data, which is as concerning as it is great.
While we get faster data transfers, we also stand to use more data. On capped plans, that could goble up data faster than you like if you’re not careful. If you’re lucky enough to still have unlimited data (and have an appropriate handset and be in an XLTE market, naturally), there isn’t much of a glass ceiling to hit.
XLTE can be found on the ONE Max and One (M8) from HTC, and Note 3 and Galaxy S5 from Samsung. The Droid MAXX, Mini, and Moto X from Motorola also take advantage, as well as several connected tablets. For the full list of covered markets and phones, click the links below.
Source: Verizon (markets), Verizon (devices)
I’m in one of the listed cities.. do I need to run any update on my phone to take advantage of this?
Wow, I didn’t think my Moto X was going to be supported … but I just got 21.29 Mbps down and 6.07 Mbps up!!! And I am in the middle of a huge metal building!
And I didn’t have to do anything to get the new speed!
Just a note of reference. I live in a small town east of Oklahoma city, I get 65 down and 25 up on plain ole Att lte. Not so sure what is special about xlte.