Pan-European pay-TV giant Sky saw revenues increase by 5% to £8.71 billion (US$12.54 billion) in the first nine months of the year, the only blot on the landscape being Italy, where revenues actually slipped 2%, as customer numbers fell away during the first half of the fiscal year. Operating profit was up 12% overall, to £1.14 billion ($1.64 billion). Average revenue per user (ARPU) figures held steady, at £47 ($67) a month in the UK, €35 ($39) in Germany and Austria, and €42 ($47) in Italy. The operator spent £15 million ($21.5 million) promoting its fancy-dan new set-top box, Sky Q, during the most recent quarter. (See Eurobites: OTT Feel for Sky's New Set-Top.)

Orange (NYSE: FTE) has completed its acquisition of Tigo, a mobile operator in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The DRC has a population of more than 80 million and a mobile penetration rate of just 50% of the population, so the potential for growth is clear. The recent collapse of its takeover talks with domestic rival Bouygues has probably forced Orange to focus more strongly on growth opportunities away from its home turf. (See End of the Bouygues Affair for Orange.)

Nordic operator Tele2 AB (Nasdaq: TLTO) saw first-quarter net sales slip nearly 1% year-on-year to 6.44 billion Swedish kronor ($794 million), while EBITDA fell 14.1% to SEK1.22 billion ($150 million). Last year Tele2's Norwegian unit was sold to Swedish rival Telia Company .

Everynet, a UK-based LoRaWAN specialist, has launched an IoT interoperability lab. Devices from Microchip and Flashnet and an application platform from Teezle have already been put through their paces. Everynet is a member of the LoRa Alliance . (See Everynet Launches IoT Interoperability Lab.)

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading