According to the latest connectivity report for the second half of 2025 released by Ookla, the Colombian telecommunications market has seen specific performance leaders in both mobile and fixed broadband sectors. The data, which tracks network performance across the country, identifies Claro (NYSE: AMX, BMV: AMX) and Movistar (NYSE: TEF, BMEX: TEF) as the primary benchmarks for speed and user experience during this period.

According to the analysis carried out by the commission, as part of the work to monitor the behavior of regulated services, since the Mobile Number Portability measure was implemented in the country, which allows users to change mobile operator as many times as they wish with their line number, between August 2011 and December 31, 2024, approximately 57 million porting operations have been carried out.

During 2024, users requested a total of 7.08 million mobile operator changes, 15.5% less than in 2023, of which 1.77 million corresponded to porting operations carried out during the fourth quarter of this year (0.3% more than what was recorded in the third quarter).

In the last quarter of 2024, for portability, some operators gained more users than they lost, while others had a balance against. This was the behavior:

Operators with the most users gained:

• Claro: +93.528
• Movistar: +67.738

Operators that lost more users than they received:

• Tigo: -90.175
• WOM: -64.746

In the fourth quarter of 2024, 261,700 port requests were rejected, a decrease of 6.3% compared to the previous quarter. Claro had the highest number of rejected operations, with 87,200, followed by Tigo with 83,600, WOM with 43,700, and Movistar with 36,300.
The main reason postings were rejected is that the applicant was not the contract subscriber nor authorized to carry out the porting process (95.1%).

“The figures presented reflect that number portability continues to be a fundamental tool to promote competition in the Colombian mobile market, by empowering users to freely choose the operator that best suits their needs. The decrease in rejections and the stability in the volume of portings show advances in the efficiency of the process, which will be consolidated with the measures adopted in Resolution 7684 of 2025, which updates the causes of rejection and eliminates barriers for prepaid users, by allowing the change of operator even when the line is registered in the name of a distributor. Transferring to the receiving operator the responsibility of updating the ownership. In addition, it reinforces security by requiring data verification before activating new lines. From the CRC, we will continue working to make this process increasingly agile, transparent, and secure,” said Claudia Ximena Bustamante, Commissioner and Executive Director of the CRC.

Photo credit: Tigo Official Facebook page.

According to the Ookla report, Claro emerged as the fastest mobile operator in Colombia during the second half of 2024 when considering all technologies combined. Claro recorded a median download speed of 26.89 Mbps and a median upload speed of 12.08 Mbps.

In the fixed broadband sector, Movistar was identified as the fastest ISP in Colombia during the same period. Movistar registered a median download speed of 265.34 Mbps and a median upload speed of 235.21 Mbps.

The Ookla report also assessed the gaming experience provided by mobile operators and ISPs. Claro was found to offer the best mobile gaming experience in Colombia, while Movistar registered the best gaming experience among fixed broadband providers. The methodology for determining the gaming experience was not detailed in the provided information.

Analyzing network performance across Colombia’s most populous cities, the report indicated that Medellín exhibited the fastest median mobile download speed at 32.17 Mbps. In the fixed broadband category among these cities, Cartagena surpassed others with the fastest median download speed of 180.35 Mbps.

The Ookla “Colombia Speedtest Connectivity Report H2 2024” provides an overview of the internet speeds and performance metrics of the country’s major mobile and fixed broadband providers during the latter half of 2024. The data is derived from user-initiated tests conducted on Speedtest. The full report, including further details and analysis, is available on the Ookla website.

Photo credit: América Movil.

The publication aims to address information asymmetries by providing insights into the quality of services delivered by internet service providers (ISPs) across Colombia. Additionally, it benchmarks Colombia’s internet performance against 26 other countries. The report introduces innovative assessment tools, including the Quality of Experience Index (ICE) and the Game Score, which specifically evaluate online gaming performance.

Key Findings

Significant Increase in Internet Speeds

Between the second half of 2023 and the first half of 2024, Colombia experienced a notable improvement in fixed internet speeds:

• Download Speeds: Increased by 55.1%, reaching 147.1 Mbps by June 2024.
• Upload Speeds: Rose by 45.7%, reaching 49.5 Mbps.

Among providers, Movistar led with a download speed of 250.5 Mbps and an upload speed of 221.1 Mbps, followed by ETB, which also reported the lowest national latency at 6.7 milliseconds. Both companies demonstrated strong download-upload symmetry, largely attributable to the deployment of fiber-optic connections directly to end-users.

City Performance

Performance varied significantly across Colombian cities:

• Armenia recorded the fastest download speed at 206.79 Mbps.
• Bogotá achieved the highest upload speed at 93.95 Mbps and the best latency at 10.65 milliseconds.
• Cities such as Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cartagena, and Ibagué showed significant year-over-year improvements, surpassing their June 2023 metrics.

Quality of Experience Index (ICE)

The CRC’s ICE provides a comprehensive evaluation of fixed internet service quality across major Colombian cities. As of June 2024, Bogotá ranked first with an ICE score of 78.84, up from 55.21 in June 2023, reflecting a 23.63-point improvement. Other cities showing notable gains included:

Online Gaming Performance

The Game Score, developed by Ookla, evaluates the quality of online gaming experiences by analyzing metrics such as latency and connection stability. Movistar excelled in this category, leading in six top ten cities and placing second in the remaining towns.

Official Remarks

According to Lina María Duque Del Vecchio, Commissioner and Executive Director of the CRC, “The results presented highlight significant improvements in speed, latency, and symmetry, benefiting users and operators alike. These analyses reflect the CRC’s ongoing efforts to monitor communication services and encourage continuous improvement in service delivery across Colombia.”

The full Data Flash report provides detailed data disaggregated by ISP, department, city, and local districts, including Bogotá’s surrounding municipalities, Medellín’s communes, and the Valle de Aburrá region.

Photo credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Specifically, the big three ratings agency upgraded Tigo UNE’s long-term national rating from to AA(col) from A-(col) and its short-term national rating to F1+(col) from F2(col). The long-term rating was also upgraded from “evolving” to “stable.”

Other ratings upgrades included a positive move for the telecom’s domestic public debt bond program rating to AA(col) from A-(col) and its commercial paper rating to F1+(col) from F2(col).

“The improvements in the ratings and the stabilization of the outlook reflect the strengthening in Tigo UNE’s liquidity, evidenced by the capitalizations made in 2023 by its two shareholders, Millicom International Cellular S.A. and Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM),” stated Fitch in a note.

The agency added that it also factored in “revenues from recent tower sales,” “the demonstrated ability to access bank debt financing,” “the company’s governance structure,” and a projected “improvement in Tigo UNE’s free cash flow generation over the rating horizon as a result of cost control initiatives.”

In it’s full breakdown of Tigo UNE’s ratings factors, Fitch Ratings also published the following details (included here directly as stated by the agency).

Improvement of the Liquidity Position

Tigo UNE’s liquidity was reinforced by capital injections from its shareholders in 2023. This support also allowed the company to take out a new bank loan with Bancolombia S.A. Additionally, in January 2024, the company announced an agreement to sell approximately 1,100 towers to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) in a sale-lease transaction with revenue expected next year. Fitch expects the company to refinance its upcoming debt maturities using cash on hand and new bank debt or local bonds.

FFL Trends

Fitch projects that Tigo UNE’s FFL will remain negative in 2024 but gradually improve over the rating horizon as the company implements cost-cutting initiatives to improve EBITDA margins, while spectrum costs should be less of a hurdle as the company benefits from its shared network agreement with Movistar. Tigo UNE’s FFL was under pressure in 2023 due to high levels of spectrum-related capital expenditures (capex), the impact of higher interest expenses, and ongoing competitive challenges in the industry. This led to a liquidity crisis in the second half of 2023 that ultimately resulted in capital injections made by its shareholders.

Corporate Governance

The ratings remain limited by Tigo UNE’s shareholding structure, resulting in a one-notch spread with respect to the individual credit profile. While Millicom and EPM were able to reach an agreement on a capital injection, Fitch is of the opinion that the shareholding structure provides less financial flexibility than its peers due to a more time-consuming process required for financing needs.

Intense Price Competition

The Colombian mobile market is likely to continue to be highly competitive as operators maintain promotional activity to defend their market share. Fitch anticipates that average revenue per user (ARPU) industry will continue to be pressured in the postpaid segment as WOM Colombia S.A.S. (WOM Colombia) looks to become a significant player. The country’s mobile penetration, which exceeds 150% compared to 135% in 2019, is also contributing to lower ARPU. In addition, competition is growing in fixed broadband. Movistar has continued its aggressive promotional strategy to gain share and complete network capacity as demand has slowed after the coronavirus pandemic.

Effective position in the market

Tigo UNE demonstrates relative strength in the fixed residential segment, a solid spectrum position aligned with its coverage strategy and a mobile network development with strong growth in postpaid data users. Fitch believes these factors will help the company mitigate the effects of WOM Colombia’s entry into the country’s mobile market and aggressive promotional activity in the residential segment by its competitor Movistar.

Wide Range of Services

The company’s diversification of services compares well with that of other operators in the region. Tigo UNE is well diversified into home, mobile telephony and business-to-business (B2B) services, with service revenue shares of approximately 35%, 41% and 20%, respectively during 2023. Tigo UNE operates only in the Colombian telecommunications market.

Links between Matrices and Subidiaries

Fitch believes that Tigo UNE has a weaker PCI compared to Millicom. Based on Fitch’s linkage factor assessment, the legal, strategic, and operational incentives are assessed as low and, consequently, an increase in Tigo UNE’s rating is not considered. The company’s ratings incorporate weak ties to both EPM and Millicom. The ratings of both entities are limited by sovereign risks, the former as an entity related to the Colombian government and the latter by the majority of its cash flows from speculative-grade countries. While Tigo UNE is structured as a joint venture (JV) 50/50, of the two parent entities, Millicom exerts greater influence.

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.

Colombia’s mobile market is the most saturated in the Andean region, with over 82 million mobile lines as of 1Q23. The competitive environment has intensified in recent years, spurred by new entrants such as WOM Colombia, as well as high levels of capex related to the renewal of spectrum and network modernization. Examples of the latter include fiber investments and transition spending related to the move to fifth-generation (5G) technology in the coming years from 4G.
Within this rapidly evolving environment where mobile penetration is high, companies are trying to maximize their 4G network by offering bundle services but post-paid subscriber growth is offset by competitive pressures on ARPUs.
Fitch expects already depressed industry cash flows to be pressured as a result of spectrum license renewals. During 2023-2024, Colombia’s four main operators face renewal processes of their spectrum holdings and need to financially prepare for the upcoming 5G spectrum auctions adding more uncertainty about capex allocation.

5G mobile network technology will enable significantly faster data speeds compared to existing cable or ADSL, low latency, and greater capacity. It will also allow for new applications and services in various industries, such as healthcare, transportation and manufacturing. The share of smartphone subscribers reached half of the Colombian market in 2022 driven by the increased availability of low-cost options, as well as lower pricing of voice and data services.

In the Colombian broadband market, Fiber to the home’s (FTTH) deployment is gaining traction, especially in urban areas, as it offers faster speed compared to traditional cable (copper or ADSL) and more reliable internet connections, supporting the increasing demand for data-intensive applications. Telecom providers, including Coltel and Tigo in Colombia, are expanding their FTTH infrastructure to offer higher-speed internet services and capitalize on the growing digital needs of consumers and businesses.

Capitalizing on new technologies are key for future growth; however, the ultimate roll-out cost and investment payback periods remain uncertain due to the weak consumer environment and affordability’s issues for these technologies. Companies are trying to offset the upfront costs by transitioning to less capital-intensive business models; however, the change will take time.

Some actions taken, or under consideration, to move to capital-light operating models include selling and leasing backs passive assets and partially divesting fixed infrastructure. Another example includes entering into partnerships, such as Tigo and Coltel’s recent efforts to explore the possibility of sharing their mobile networks and other network resources. The definitive agreement is subject to approval by the relevant governmental authorities.

Perhaps worse, he demonstrated a complete misunderstanding of what fiber optics do.

“There are different technologies but the easiest is fiber optics. If here comes a fiber optic, there is a little apparatus that radiates a signal that if we get close to it, then with a password you catch Wi-Fi. Certain? These fiber optic networks, who puts them up? We are used to it being (telecom operators) Claro (a brand of Telmex), or Movistar (a brand of Telefónica), or I don’t know what. Why not have the Community Action Groups put them up?”

Community Action Groups are nonprofit neighborhood groups sanctioned under Colombian law that seek to formalize communications between neighborhood residents and the levers of government. Members can be as young as 14 but officers must be adults. They are not work groups such as those formed in communist countries, nor are they tasked with providing public services, such as those by utilities. They do not possess assets like trucks, ladders, or specialists qualified to work atop utility poles shared with high-voltage electric lines, nor do they (nor the Colombian government) possess data centers with peering agreements and NAPs (network access points) required to provide backbone internet services, fiber optic or otherwise.

Petro is confusing fiber optics with public wi-fi hotspots and demonstrates a lack of understanding of telecommunications in his desire to create a socialist utopia. But hey, it’s the thought that counts, right?

¡Vea pues! Ahora a Petro se le ocurre que las juntas de acción comunal podrán instalar los sistemas de fibra óptica para dar internet ? pic.twitter.com/h8vim0ppGw

— La Hora de La Verdad (@Horadelaverdad) February 17, 2023

Fitch says that it took into consideration that the company will maintain its market share in both mobile and fixed services through investments and renewals in the network. This dynamic should support EBITDA generation and stable leverage. Telefónica Movistar is the second largest telecommunications operator in Colombia, offering mobile, fixed and business-to-business (B2B) services.

“Movistar Colombia is part of the life of Colombians, from their devices to their homes and companies, that makes us a privileged actor in the digital transformation of the country, to be able to influence the well-being of workers and our suppliers, allies, shareholders and users in general, we provide them with a value offer that we hope will meet and exceed their expectations. This rating reaffirms that we must continue to position ourselves as a key player in the market, continue to deploy fiber optics in Colombia, with which we hope to reach more than 5.5 million homes by the end of 2024.” said Fabián Hernández, CEO of Telefónica Movistar Colombia.

The published quality measurements for the period between January 2018 and December 2021 include seventeen cities in Colombia: Armenia, Barranquilla, Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Cali, Cartagena, Ibagué, Manizales, Medellín, Montería, Pasto, Pereira, Popayán, Santa Marta, Sincelejo, Tunja, and Villavicencio. Data was obtained from Ookla’s Speedtest application.

Compared to 11 countries in South America, Colombia ranks fourth in download speed and third in upload speed in fixed Internet service, but in mobile internet, Colombia ranks a very poor 10th in download speed and 8th in upload speed.

“With these measurements, the Commission continues to provide information that facilitates decision-making by users when choosing the operators that best suit their needs, and at the same time, seeks to encourage operators to improve the provision of their services in the different regions of the country,” said the Executive Director of the CRC, Paola Bonilla Castaño.

Fixed Internet

• Bucaramanga, Bogotá and Cali recorded the highest average download or download speeds in December 2021, 101.2 Mbps, 95.8 Mbps and 91.2 Mbps respectively.
• The city of Bucaramanga recorded the highest average upload speed with 63.5 Mbps.
• At the carrier level, Movistar recorded the highest average download speed in December 2021 with 129.7 Mbps, followed by ETB with 101.8 Mbps, Claro with 82.4 Mbps and Tigo with 71.9 Mbps.

 Tigo had the lowest latency of mobile providers at 30ms

Mobile Internet

• The download speed at the Colombia level for the year 2021 was 17.6 Mbps, with a decrease of 3.3% compared to 2020.
• Montería, Cartagena and Barranquilla presented the highest average download speeds for the year 2021, with 22.6 Mbps, 22.2 Mbps and 21.2 Mbps respectively.
• At the operator level, for the year 2021, Tigo recorded the highest average download speed, with 24.8 Mbps, followed by WOM with 16.9 Mbps, Claro with 16.1 Mbps, Avantel with 14.6 Mbps, Movistar with 14.3 Mbps and ETB with 14 Mbps.
• For the year 2021, the average loading or uploading speed for Colombia was 9.9 Mbps, which does not represent a variation in relation to the year 2020, and a decrease of 3.9% compared to the year of 2019.

Cali showed the fastest median mobile download speed among Colombia’s most populous cities during Q2 2022 at 13.55 Mbps.

• Pasto, Montería and Barranquilla recorded the highest averages for upload speed in 2021, with 12 Mbps, 11.9 Mbps and 11.7 respectively.
• As for operators, Tigo recorded the highest average upload speed in 2021 with 13.3 Mbps, followed by Claro with 9.2 Mbps, Movistar with 8.8 Mbps, Avantel with 8.6 Mbps, ETB with 8 Mbps and WOM with 7.6 Mbps.
• WOM had the highest Consistencyin Colombia during Q2 2022, with 78.4% of results showing at least a 5 Mbps minimum download speed and 1 Mbps minimum upload speed.

Devices from Apple had the fastest median download speed in Colombia during Q2 2022 at 16.62 Mbps.