Verizon today announced that it is expanding XLTE to 22 new markets.
After substantially completing its nationwide LTE buildout on 700 MHz, Verizon began supplementing that with an AWS LTE deployment. The carrier is promising XLTE will deliver double the LTE bandwidth and faster peak speeds.
Verizon has said that devices that automatically access the AWS network include the newest DROID devices, Samsung Galaxy S4, S5 and Note 3, and the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s. Verizon said that now more than 35 percent of active devices on its network are XLTE Ready.
T-Mobile has also been working on improving capacity. The Uncarrier is calling its offering “Wideband LTE”. That company is deploying LTE in 15×15 MHz and 20×20 MHz blocks. T-Mobile recently said it intends to deploy 20×20 in all major U.S. markets. That focus on metro areas is paying off for T-Mobile in the report, with the carrier winning or tying 169 times across all categories.
