Verizon dramatically increases LTE network capacity in major cities

Network expands to 40MHz, double the largest available previously

Following up on the admission that its network isn't up to par in major cities, Verizon has just quietly flipped the switch on massive LTE network enhancements across the country. Just one month ago Verizon CFO Fran Shammoconfirmed many people's suspicions that the carrier's network performance has dipped in recent months, but that money was being spent to have the issues resolved by the end of the year. It seemed like a lofty statement at the time, but Verizon has just made those improvements live today.

According to statements given to Gigaom, Verizon has just tripled its network capacity in some of the biggest markets in the U.S.New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Seattle and Washington, D.C. In other markets like San Francisco and Los Angeles, the network improvements are in the 150 percent range.

Verizon is accomplishing these amazing network improvements by tapping its holdings of AWS(Advanced Wireless Services) spectrum, which has bolstered its network to operating on a full 40MHz of spectrum, up from a maximum of 20MHz in any given market previously. The carrier claims 5,000 cell cites will be updated to support AWS by the end of the year, with another 5,000 in process of coming online thereafter.

The end result for customers is higher peak speeds, now up to 80mbps theoretically, as well as a higher number of connections in any given area. Whether or not you personally see the increased speeds will likely hinge on whether or not your phone supports LTE on the AWS frequencies, but even if your phone doesn't it should see mild increases simply because the towers will be less crowded on each frequency.

And given how poor Verizon's network has been performing in these markets before now, any improvement will be welcomed. While Verizon isn't making much noise about the opening up of new spectrum just yet, if you're a Verizon subscriber you should see the improvements right away.

Source: Gigaom

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