Verizon Switches On LTE Advanced In 461 Cities -- Is Your Phone Compatible? (betanews.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Today, the carrier announces that its LTE is getting much faster. In 461 cities across the USA, it switches on the speedier 'LTE Advanced' (LTE-A). Best of all, many existing devices are compatible.
The company said in a blog post:"Verizon LTE Advanced uses software that combines multiple channels to speed mobile data over the network more quickly than ever before. The result is 50 percent faster peak speeds in cities nationwide for Verizon customers using one of the 39 LTE Advanced-capable phones and tablets already on Verizon's network -- including top-selling Samsung Galaxy S6 and S7 smartphones, Moto Droids and Apple iPhones. As new devices from Apple, Samsung, LG and other manufacturers are introduced, they will be LTE Advanced-capable right out of the box."

Comments

Fuck Verizon

[Anonymous Coward]

There's plenty of bandwidth, yet they've restricted the hell out of what users are allowed. It's for the purpose of violating net neutrality and pushing their own content platforms like go90. Fuck Verizon. LTE-A is great, but Verizon is evil.

Re: Fuck Verizon

[Anonymous Coward]

Agreed. Technology keeps marching forward, which allows the marketing depts. of the world to sell devices with ever increasing speeds, but we're not really allowed to use these devices to their full potential.

I wouldn't say "many" phones are compatible..

[toonces33]

Just the most recent high-end phones. If you have something slightly older, then no soup for you.

Re:I wouldn't say "many" phones are compatible..

[bev_tech_rob]

Just the most recent high-end phones. If you have something slightly older, then no soup for you.

Agreed. I have had my phone only one year and it is not compatible...

Re:I wouldn't say "many" phones are compatible..

[dyslexicbunny]

Nexus 5x isn't even a year old. Oh well.

Re:I wouldn't say "many" phones are compatible..

[Coren22]

It also supports it, but isn't on the list according to the comments section of that article. Likely the issue is that VZ never sold the phone, so didn't test it for compatibility.

hailcorporate

[markfinn]

So, this is an embedded advertisement, right?

Re:hailcorporate

[Anonymous Coward]

Looks like it to me

Ummm

[NEDHead]

Does this mean I have to talk faster?

Re:Ummm

[Anonymous Coward]

Talk? Phone? What century are you living in, "phones" are for texting, videos, social media, photography, NSA & Google tracking your life, etc.
Days of talking are long since gone.

1.5Mbps is enough for anyone

[Anonymous Coward]

1.5Mbps is enough for anyone

Re: 1.5Mbps is enough for anyone

[Anonymous Coward]

That is patently incorrect.

Re:1.5Mbps is enough for anyone

[kungfool]

and bill gates once thought 640K of ram would be enough for anyone. times change, needs change. unless you're 16 and living in moms basement, you should already know this.

Nope

[Anonymous Coward]

My flip phone is still slow as ever...

Cities list

[Anonymous Coward]

https://www.verizonwireless.com/featured/lte-advanced/#cities

Re:Cities list

[dysmal]

THANK YOU!!!

Re:Cities list

[Anonymous Coward]

Page took 4 minutes to load!!!

Re:Cities list

[Anonymous Coward]

Obviously you don't have one of the new compatible phones.

Time to upgrade and read /. faster. (:

My brand new phone isn't compatible.

[Anonymous Coward]

I ordered it that way since I don't have a data plan.

How can I tell?

[crow]

I have a Galaxy S7. Is there an easy way to tell if it is a regular LTE connection vs. an LTE Advanced connection?

Is there an app that will tell you what the theoretical bandwidth based on the channels in the current connection?

Re:How can I tell?

[Anonymous Coward]

Without special software no. Even when your phone shows "4G" it is most likely not communicating at that speed as most Android phones (and I believe IPhones) show the 'capabilities' of the connection. I've loaded up other software that proves this. It's not denied either. When ever I get down to two bars I know that I'm using 3G and my logs show this as well. Without at least '3 bars' ( another rather vague and pretty useless method of measurement ) my Samsung Galaxy S5 drops to a 3G connection.

Re:How can I tell?

[Anonymous Coward]

My S6 says LTE+ rather than just LTE when in LTE Advanced mode.

Re: How can I tell?

[Anonymous Coward]

The phone is just a part of a cellular network.

The parameters to decide when to switch network cells are actually broadcasted by the network. Switching during data transfers is entirely controlled by the network.

Re: How can I tell?

[Anonymous Coward]

There are huge variations between models so just "S7" is not enough. Baseband firmware version is also important.

On most Samsung phones you can type *#0011# in the dialer to bring out the Service Mode. You can switch back to it during a data transfer - look for LTE Bandwidth, MIMO Mode, Carrier Agregation.

Re:How can I tell?

[thegarbz]

I have an S5 (Specific sub model for LTE-A). I get a "4G+" icon on my signal strength when connected to LTE-A

Re:How can I tell?

[ThatsNotPudding]

I have a Galaxy S7. Is there an easy way to tell if it is a regular LTE connection vs. an LTE Advanced connection?

Yes. If the unblockable browser ads no longer stutter, you have LTE 'advanced'.

Awesome headline

[Anonymous Coward]

Love the clickbait headline... How is LTE-A being enabled the same as LTE being enabled?

Drop to 3G Speeds

[KermodeBear]

Is this why my phone has suddenly dropped down to 3G from 4G LTE?

I'm not amused.

225 Mbps

[dogvomit]

The wireless carrier further says, "LTE Advanced currently uses a combination of two- and three-carrier aggregation. Customers will continue to enjoy typical download speeds of 5 - 12 Mbps, but two-channel carrier aggregation has shown peak download speeds of up to 225 Mbps, far exceeding the current speeds being experienced by wireless data networks nationwide.

Awesome. I can now exceed my monthly data cap in just under nine minutes.

—George

Re:225 Mbps

[Anonymous Coward]

If it was up to me, I wouldn't designate any cell standard as "next-gen" until it managed to clear the next hurdle, which right now is usage caps.

Re:225 Mbps

[Anonymous Coward]

More to the point, 225 Mbps exceeds most residential broadband speeds by a wide margin. That cap is probably permanent, or the entire country would have a reason to switch to cellular internet connections.

Re: 225 Mbps

[Anonymous Coward]

That "peak" is impossible to achieve anywhere but in a shielded lab. IRL there are interferences and the bandwidth is shared with other subscribers. Unless Verizon installed a LTE-A tower in the middle of nowhere ;-)

Re:225 Mbps

[thegarbz]

Awesome. I can now exceed my monthly data cap in just under nine minutes

You're assuming that we're going to max out the connection at all times. Me, I use the same amount of data on LTE as LTE-A. I just waste less time staring at a loading screen.

I don't want faster speeds. I want lower cost.

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't want faster speeds. I want lower cost.

Re:I don't want faster speeds. I want lower cost.

[Anonymous Coward]

I want a pony that shoots jello shots Monday nights, but thtat's not going to get verizon's stock over t$75 a share, now is it?

Meanwhile the cost is astronomical

[Anonymous Coward]

I was paying something like $100 for 10GB of Verizon's data three times a month. I don't need a faster connection I need more data. Fortunately I only had to do that for a few months before my fiber line was installed. Now I'm back to a good 10Mbps (in both directions).

* Yes- I know. WTF. Why would I get fiber and then only subscribe to a 10Mbps plan. Well, it was like this, doing business with a cable company that was utter evil (Comcast), or ADSL (which here because I'm so far out of town is pretty shitty, 3Mbs or bonded @ 6Mbps, and I need more like 8Mbps). I'm sure down the line I will get 100Mbps or faster *synchronous* connection at some point in the near future (and gigabit eventually). Right now even at 10Mbps my connection is better than cable internet (super low latency, synchronous, etc). Cable internet here also sucks and is more expensive for decent speeds. Now take this into context that I live in Keene, New Hampshire. A small "city" (ie town anywhere else with only 30,000 people) in the middle of nowhere (two hours to NYC and an hour or so to the next smaller city, no other nearby towns of any size, and basically forest, no population outside of my city). Now you see why it's amazing I can even get fiber @ 100Mbps, even if it isn't gigabit speeds yet, it's awesome.

Re:Meanwhile the cost is astronomical

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes- I know. WTF. Why would I get fiber and then only subscribe to a 10Mbps plan.

because you're smart and realize it's a tower of bullshitting turtles all the way down? 100Mbit/s just means 100Mbit/s to speedtest.net. A cable company won't even give you 2Mbit/s to NFLX after dinner. If NFLX pays up to the eyeball monopoly maybe they can have 4Mbit/s.

And it's NFLX's fault, because, as cable monopolies say, "whenever we add more peering and core capacity, NFLX ups the codec bitrate and uses the capacity, so of course we have to charge them." The arrogance of these scoundrels, allowing your captive customers to actually use the service that you sold them! My sympathies, sir.

Yours is exactly the approach: actually deliver the 10Mbit/s, and then we'll talk about more.

I live in Keene, New Hampshire [...] 30,000 people in the middle of nowhere

It sounds like a well-organized town. That must be why you're allowed to have fiber internet: no lawyered-up CATV neckties scamming out regulations forbidding the town from organizing.

Their priorities don't match mine.

[Rebar]

I'm really interested in "reliably works at my house". Next in line would be "stop gouging for bandwidth". After that "better battery life". Somewhere way down the list is "faster".

What's this do to battery life?

[dyslexicbunny]

Mobile data use always seems to drain my battery anyways. What impact does this have on it? Should I even be upset about missing out on it?

Call and Data at the same time?

[Anonymous Coward]

AT&T has let me make calls and use data for years. Will this magical feature suddenly be available on Verizon now?

Re:Call and Data at the same time?

[steveg]

It's been available ever since LTE came along. Doesn't work on CDMA, does work on LTE.