Six months after launching in Europe and Canada, one quarter of all of Braintree’s e-commerce transactions are initiated on a foreign shore. CEO Bill Ready explains why its international expansion is a key driver of its business. Read more »
GigaOM has learned that pan-African operator Airtel is deploying a large-scale carrier Wi-Fi network using Ruckus and Alcatel-Lucent gear. With mainly 2G networks to its name today, Airtel will use Wi-Fi to jump start its mobile data services. Read more »
Nexmo can already connect apps to 5 billion devices through SMS. Now the U.K.-U.S. startup plans to open up carriers’ networks even further. Read more »
Facebook wants the first app accessed by new smartphone owners in emerging markets to be its social networking service. It’s working with Spreadtrum to ensure its software will come pre-installed in millions of inexpensive Android phones. Read more »
Documents filed with the SEC on Friday indicate that Sequoia Capital has raised $700 million for its global growth fund, an existing but not yet reported fund for international investments. The firm has been expanding internationally recently as the trend among VCs is to look overseas. Read more »
NTT DoCoMo is letting Boingo’s customers onto its 55,000-node strong hotspot network in Japan, increasing Boingo’s presence there to 60,000 hotspots. In turn DoCoMo customers get access to Boingo’s network of 600,000 hotspots. Read more »
Even using a smartphone in fairly normal ways — checking your location with a web-based map, sending email or text messages, uploading photos and so on — can result in massive charges when it is done while roaming internationally, thanks to the market control that telecom carriers enjoy. Read more »
According to new reports, Clearwire isn’t part of Softbank’s US plans. Clearwire and Softbank have a lot in common when comes to 4G technology, but that doesn’t mean there’s room for the struggling mobile broadband operator in Sprint and Softbank’s marriage. Read more »
You have probably never heard of Yulong or its Coolpad brand, but in China it’s a top 3 smartphone maker beating out even the iPhone in device sales. On Tuesday Coolpad arrived in the US on the MetroPCS LTE network with its first budget smartphone. Read more »
IHS iSuppli points out that Apple is missing a big iPhone opportunity by not supporting China’s unique flavor of 3G. That’s true, but it’s not so simple for Apple to add a new radio technology to the device. It would need to build a Chinese variant. Read more »
Mobile apps may not be shipped on galleons or via airfreight, but they are definitely crossing oceans. According to data from VisionMobile’s recent developer survey, a big market around the import and export of apps has emerged globally. Read more »
Here’s our daily pick of stories about Apple from around the web that you shouldn’t miss. Today’s installment: how Apple’s future depends on China, pay raises for retail workers, fined for false advertising in Australia, and 32 new countries get access to the App Store. Read more »
It took 12 years for 3G technologies to touch half of the world’s population, but getting to 85 percent coverage will only take another five, according to wireless infrastructure vendor Ericsson. In addition, Ericsson projects LTE networks will cover half the globe’s population. Read more »
You thought it was hard to get cellular coverage in your basement — try getting it in the rain forests of the Congo. RascomStar plans to ensure that remotest communities in the Republic of the Congo get mobile service using the smallest access node imaginable: the femtocell. Read more »
A new survey from Informa finds that 60 percent of all global carriers plan to deploy LTE by the end of 2013. That may come as a bit of shock to our non-North American readers, given global operators haven’t exactly been enthusiastic about the technology. Read more »
Facebook’s rise has come on the back of astonishing international growth — but it needs to keep expanding everywhere, and in every way, to keep up with investors’ expectations. Where can it find the silver bullet? And how will it happen? Read more »
After growth slowed just in time for its IPO, Facebook must look overseas for a jump-start. Here are the only five remaining countries where Zuckerberg is not top dog – and the rivals that stand in his way. Read more at paidContent »
Chinese and U.S. operators continued to dominate the list of global operators, according to Wireless Intelligence. China Mobile further solidified its top spot in both subscribers and revenue, but most surprisingly Verizon Wireless leapfrogged its corporate parent Vodafone in the fourth quarter in overall revenues. Read more »
Kyocera’s first previewed its new ceramic transducer audio technology last week, and now it’s already making it into its first phones. The two devices are for the Japanese market only, but Kyocera said that the technology would be available in U.S. phones within 6-12 months. Read more »
Under pressure because the new iPad’s 4G connectivity does not work outside North America, the company has started dropping its claims in some international markets — like the UK and Australia — but not in others. Read more »
Wireless industry veteran Whitey Bluestein writes that it isn’t a question of if Apple will offer its own mobile service. It’s merely a question of when. Apple has all of the infrastructure and ambition. And most importantly it has leverage over the operators. Read more »
WiMAX was a big flop for Intel, but instead of giving its wounds a quick lick and chasing after the easy LTE money, Intel is investing in yet another 4G variant, time division-LTE. Why? Two reasons: Qualcomm and China. Read more »
After 14 years as the world’s biggest mobile phone maker, Nokia has lost the top spot to Korean rival Samsung. The question facing the Finnish company’s bosses now is whether they can ever regain the momentum they’ve lost. Read more »
Singapore’s StarHub has taken its 4G fate into its own hands, revealing today it will shut down part of its 2G network to make room for LTE, rather than wait around for new 4G spectrum to materialize. Its LTE network goes live this year. Read more »
Rogers is maintaining its steady LTE rollout pace up north, lighting up Calgary and Halifax Monday, bringing its total 4G coverage to 12 million people. Given the small population, Canadian operators are on track to match the U.S. in blanketing metropolitan areas with 4G next year. Read more »
Apple is apparently in the process of setting up iTunes Match for international customers. According to reports, users can now access the iTunes Match sign-up page from this direct link. As of this writing, it was working here in Canada, where Match costs $27.99 annually. Read more »
Sprint issued a press release Friday notifying iPhone 4S owners that their SIM slot will now be locked for devices on its network, even though they were sold unlocked. You can still put the world back in Apple’s first world phone with a special request, however. Read more »
Google, IBM, Citi and a handful of other large U.S. technology and banking companies are pushing the U.S. government to take the lead on establishing global treaties that would assure the free flow of information across international borders. If the government is smart, it will listen. Read more »
Apple announced when it unveiled the iPhone 4S that it would reach 22 more countries by the end of October. The company opened up preorders for the device in those countries on Friday, with expected shipping times of one to two weeks. Read more »
Apple has been granted a preliminary injunction by a German court, which will effectively prevent the sale of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in all countries belonging to the European Union, save the Netherlands. Samsung can still appeal the decision in a few weeks. Read more »
Apple is preparing to open five new retail stores internationally on Saturday, including one smack dab in the middle of competitor Research In Motion’s home territory of Waterloo, Ontario. It’s a departure from Apple’s usual pattern in Canada — one that sends a clear message. Read more »
Viacom reported that affiliate revenues grew 20 percent domestically and 16 percent worldwide. That was due in part to digital deals that the company has struck recently, including new deals with Netflix and Hulu that make its shows available for streaming. Read more »
UPDATED: The buzz around European music streaming service Spotify’s United States launch just keeps getting louder. Our sources reveal that Spotify’s US launch will happen in mid-July and feature a tiered pricing plan. Spotify US may initially be invite-only, an anonymous report said. Read more »
International meetings can be tricky. Language barriers can make communication difficult, while time zone differences can make finding a suitable time can be awkward. Here are a few of tips to help you overcome those issues and make your international meetings more successful. Read more »
Apple has made it official: the iPad 2 goes on sale in 25 more countries beginning this Friday, March 25. It’ll be available beginning at 5 p.m. local time at Apple retail locations in those countries, and online at 1 a.m. on the 25th. Read more »
Apple Stores are sold out across the U.S., online order shipping times are at four-to-five weeks, and now analysts are saying the March 25 international launch is in jeopardy. But if you’re really serious about getting an iPad 2 as early as possible, there are alternatives. Read more »
Early this morning, Apple lowered the price of the Mac mini in many international stores. Macerkopf.de points out that prices seem to have changed in all stores except the U.S. one, but that’s not entirely accurate, since in Australia and Canada they remain the same. Read more »
Apple has announced that on July 23 the iPad will be available in nine more countries. On Friday, it will be on available in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore. If you can find one, that is. Read more »
Apple’s iPad is now available internationally, a full 53 days after its original U.S. debut. This Friday morning early adopters around the world queued up in a bid to get their hands on the long-awaited tablet device. Read more »
If you live outside the U.S. and you’ve managed to avoid the urge to pay too much for a resold unit bought in the States, you won’t have to wait too much longer before you can get your hands on some sweet, sweet iPad action. Read more »
