Before I buy the Sleek 4G

Verizon XLTE

Verizon's at it again. The carrier today invented an entirely new networking term with "XLTE," a description for its 2x20 AWS LTE network, which emphasizes the speed of the new system.

(For what it's worth, a 'G' or 'generation' of wireless technology usually involves a major change in the way the network is set up, and a break in compatibility with previous generations. HSPA+ doesn't have either of those qualities.)

Building New Lanes
Wireless networks are like highways: add more lanes and you get more capacity. The lanes are wireless spectrum. With more spectrum, you can have more people join your network or have the same number of people drive considerably faster.

Verizon's initial network had the advantage of being on the 700MHz band, which has terrific coverage and wall penetration. Using a low band like that helped Verizon blanket the whole nation, including rural areas, with LTE.

When Verizon's LTE network launched, it was 2x10 - 10 megahertz lanes in each direction. Those lanes got pretty quickly crowded with Droids, so Verizon's reliability started to suffer in some major cities. Last year, AT&T won our Fastest Mobile Networks crown in part thanks to congestion on Verizon's network.

Enter AWS
Verizon anticipated this, so the company also bought some AWS licenses at the higher 1700MHz band. This is similar spectrum to what T-Mobile and Cricket use for their 3G and LTE networks. It's better designed for metro areas than for rural regions, demanding more cell sites to cover the same physical area.

With 40MHz of AWS spectrum in many areas, Verizon could build a 2x20 network in addition to its existing 700MHz, 2x10 network. That's like opening a whole new highway. That relieved congestion and greatly improved speeds in many areas, and that's what Verizon is calling "XLTE." It isn't a new technology, though - just more room for the existing technology to breathe.

Since AWS is a new frequency band for Verizon, many older phones can't use the new airwaves. All new Verizon LTE smartphones from here on out should support AWS. Of existing phones, the iPhone 5s and 5c, Samsung Galaxy S4 and S5 , the Moto X and the LG G2 all support AWS.

2. AWS (or AWS-1) means “Advanced Wireless Services” and is the name of one of the wireless telecommunications spectrum bands used by Verizon Wireless to deliver mobile data services, video and messaging over the air. Verizon Wireless uses AWS spectrum to supplement its existing 4G LTE service, which also uses the 700 MHz spectrum band originally deployed in 2010 when the company first introduced one of the world’s first commercial LTE networks