In a series of announcements today, Verizon Wireless said that it plans to bring its new LTE service to Portland, Olympia, Tacoma and other cities in the Pacific Northwest. The network, which provides speeds that are 10 times faster than Verizon’s current 3G network, is set to debut on July 21 in those cities.

Verizon Wireless also is expanding service in the Seattle area to include Everett, Marysville and Snohomish.

The company first announced the network last December. It said that users of the LTE service will experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink.

The LTE service will compete directly with Clearwire’s WiMax offering.

Previously on GeekWire: Thunderbolt vs. Charge: Study compares Verizon LTE rivals

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