Verizon confirmed plans this morning to upgrade its wireless data network in Portland with a fast technology called Long Term Evolution (LTE). The company said the new network will be online sometime in 2011.

The faster service will extend from Ridgefield, Wash. to Wilsonville and Canby, according to the company, and from Forest Grove to Gresham.

Verizon promises LTE downloads averaging between 5 and 12 megabits per second, on par with speedy wired DSL connections. Customers will need phones equipped for LTE to take advantage of the faster connections, so existing models of the iPhone and other popular smartphones won't benefit from the faster speeds.

when it began deploying its LTE service last fall. Now, it says Portland will be among 145 metro areas with LTE by the end of 2011.

LTE is frequently called a 4G technology, indicating it's in the fourth generation of successively faster wireless Internet services. AT&T is planning its own LTE deployment. It says it expects to complete its deployment by the end of 2013, but won't say when its technology is coming to Portland.

Last week,

to relieve data congestion and improve performance. It said upgraded cellular sites enjoy downloads up to 6 megabits per second. Existing AT&T "3G" connections typically provide data connections a third that fast, or less.

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Kirkland, Wash.-based wireless data company Clearwire uses a different wireless technology, called WiMAX, and markets its service under the Clear brand. It promises average downloads between 3 and 6 megabits per second. Sprint owns a majority of Clearwire, and markets its WiMAX-equipped phones as a 4G technology.

In 2009, Portland was the first city in the country to get Clearwire's WiMAX service.

Verizon has already introduced LTE service in Seattle and Tacoma. The company said it will add LTE in Spokane, Olympia and Centralia this year, but did not say if any other Oregon cities are slated for LTE coverage in 2011.

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