Report: Movistar and ETB Rank as the Top-Performing Broadband Providers in Colombia

Movistar currently has the fastest fixed broadband service in Colombia, with a median download speed of 210.46 Mbps in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Ookla, an internet speed-testing specialty firm.

This figure greatly beat out all other contenders in the firm’s most recent national report, with ETB ranking second at just 126 Mbps. Claro finished close behind in third place at 115, while Tigo significantly lagged all its top rivals with a median download speed of just 88 Mbps.

By another measure, however, ETB led the way.

The Bog0tá-based internet service provider’s performance of just 7 ms of latency led all companies. Claro and Movistar each performed about four times worse at 28 ms and 27 ms, respectively. Tigo once again trailed the pack with a median multi-server latency of 32 ms.

The poor performance in both categories for Tigo comes despite heavy investment and expansion in recent years. In 2020, the company managed to activate more than 2,358 antennas in the 700 MHz band, but it has been dragged down by controversy and funding challenges in that date back years.

In terms of locations, Cartagena is the current speed champion. Among the areas included in the study, the Caribbean jewel best known for its colonial-era walled city registered the fastest median fixed download speed at 146.74 Mbps.

Of Colombia’s seven largest cities, Cali ranked last, registering the slowest average download and upload speeds at 98.97 Mbps and 44.20 Mbps, respectively.