THE Huawei Technologies Co announced yesterday that it has signed a third-generation, or 3G, infrastructure deal with a United States-based firm.

The announcement makes it the second time within a week that the Shenzhen-based firm has secured a deal with a developed country. Under the agreements, Huawei will provide CDMA2000 (code division multiple access) infrastructure to Cricket Communications Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leap Wireless International, and Denali Spectrum Operations LLC. Huawei will supply CDMA2000 and IP-based BTS (Base Transceiver Station), IP platform soft-switch and media gateway to the companies.

Earlier this year, Huawei successfully launched a 3G CDMA system for Cricket in the cities of Spokane, Boise and Reno. Huawei announced on Monday that it has been selected by Telecom Italia to expand and upgrade its HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) networks covering southern Italy.