Orange (NYSE: FTE) continues to boost its presence in west Africa with the launch of its brand in Burkina Faso. Orange acquired Airtel's Burkina Faso business in January 2016, adding around 4.6 million customers to its empire. The French giant is now present in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East, claiming more than 120 million customers in these two regions combined.

Russian operator MegaFon saw net profit slump by 42.3% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, to 3.079 billion rubles (US$53 million), on consolidated revenue that decreased by 0.8% to RUB81.287 billion ($1.4 billion). Further details of the numbers can be found here.

Telia Carrier is trumpeting its part in a trial of 100G and 200G connectivity using Facebook 's Voyager gear on Telia's 1,089km Stockholm-to-Hamburg route. The trial, which forms part of the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), made use of technology developed by Coriant . (See Facebook TIPs Fiber Scale, Builds Connected World.)

Belgium's Proximus says it has successfully issued €500 million ($536 million) in five-year Senior Unsecured Notes, a form of institutional bond. The proceeds of the issue will be used primarily to refinance existing short-term debt.

Japanese off-shoot DoCoMo Digital has partnered with e-Park, a Spanish mobile ticketing app, to allow customers of Spain's three biggest carriers to buy parking tickets via direct carrier billing -- a feat which DoCoMo Digital claims is a first for Europe.

Russia's competition authorities have found Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) guilty of price-fixing on some iPhone models, the BBC reports. The charge is that Apple's local unit ordered 16 retailers to maintain the recommended prices of phones in the iPhone 5 and iPhone 6 families.

A report by UK telecom regulator Ofcom has found that the elderly and vulnerable are being somewhat left behind by the digital revolution, with one in five people with disabilities still lacking Internet access and older people much less likely to shop around for good deals on broadband and other services. Just 17% of those aged over 75 own a smartphone.

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading