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Verizon launches 50% faster LTE coverage in over 460 cities (Updated)
"For clarification, any customer utilizing one of the 39 devices that are LTE Advanced capable don’t need to do anything to take advantage of the technology. Their devices will automatically benefit from the technology with the newest version of the software on the device. There are no settings to activate and no indicator lights. It happens/happened automatically for customers."
So it looks like you should start experiencing benefits of LTE-A without any updates to your device!
Well, T-Mobile’s stint on the speed throne didn’t last particularly long. Although the Uncarrier was praised for having the fastest LTE coverage in the nation earlier this month, Verizon has elected not to take this slight lying down. Big Red has announced today that their LTE Advanced Network is now live in 461 cities, dramatically improving LTE coverage to the tune of a 50 percent increase in speed.
This is a massive update that angles to span the gap between 4G coverage and impending 5G coverage. Right now, it’s kind of hard to tell how much of an improvement this is making for individual end-users, and Verizon has yet to clarify whether their devices will require an update before this speed boost goes into effect.
To see if your city is included in the rollout, click here. To see if your device is supported, click here.
Verizon is calling this network LTE-Advanced (LTE-A). With it, the nation’s largest carrier is saying that you could get download speeds in the ballpark of 300Mbps. But how did they actually create this network?
Verizon says that LTE-A uses software to combine “two or three bandwidth channels into one larger channel.” Allegedly, this grants your phone much faster connectivity.
The company is making a pretty big deal about this network boost’s release, and we’d like to see if its effect is really being felt by end users. If you’re in a qualifying city and you’re using an eligible device, we invite you to post speedtest results in the comments. Are you feeling the power of LTE-A? Sound off below!
