Chinese network vendor Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. has given its Western rivals cause for concern today, announcing its first commercial deployment in the U.S. and a surprise 3G win at Dutch carrier Telfort B.V.

The company has confirmed a deal for the supply of CDMA 1x core and radio network equipment to U.S. carrier Cleartalk. According to a statement, the network will serve “approximately 358,000 POPs in El Centro, California, and Yuma, Arizona.” (See Huawei Wins First US Deal.)

Although a small deal in terms of network size (financial details were not disclosed), the announcement marks Huawei’s first commercial win in the U.S., home territory for established CDMA network incumbents Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LU), Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), and Nortel Networks Ltd. (NYSE/Toronto: NT).

Meanwhile the Chinese vendor has also scored its first European UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) contract (see Telfort Picks Huawei for UMTS). Huawei will supply both core and radio network UMTS equipment. Media reports suggest the deal with Telfort is worth between €200 million (US$265 million) and €400 million ($530 million).

According to Gartner Inc., Telfort is Holland’s fourth largest carrier, with a subscriber base of approximately 1.8 million. The deal is a major achievement for the vendor in light of Ericsson AB's (Nasdaq: ERICY) status as Telfort's current GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) network supplier.

Huawei was unavailable for immediate comment. The vendor has previously announced commercial UMTS wins in Hong Kong (Sunday Communications Ltd.), Malaysia (Telekom Malaysia Bhd.), Mauritius (Emtel), and the United Arab Emirates (Etisalat). (See Sunday Expands Huawei Deal, Huawei Soft-Launches 3G, and Huawei Completes Etisalat UMTS.)

— Justin Springham, Senior Editor, Europe, Unstrung