Colombian telcos fend off COVID-19 constrictions with positive results
Despite the harsh impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country's population and economy, Colombia's telecom sector had a solid year thanks to positive performances in the fixed-line broadband, mobile broadband, and mobile voice and data markets.Colombia's fixed-line penetration remained stable by the end of 2020, though began to increase into 2021 as a result of the particular demands on households resulting from government measures associated with addressing the pandemic. However, at less than 15% it is well below the Latin American average. The mobile market, by contrast, reached a penetration rate of 136% (an increase of over three percentage points on 2019) and managed to keep the same upward growth trajectory that it has sustained over the last ten years. The fixed-line broadband market also expanded, with the number of subscribers increasing 11.4%, and with revenue increasing 9.9% thanks to increased data usage as many customers were forced to work or study from home during the year.
The mobile broadband market was the standout performer in 2020, with a 13% increase in the number of subscribers year-on-year, albeit the penetration rate is relatively low compared to other Latin American countries. Most significant of all was the surge in mobile broadband traffic a 51% increase over the previous year which was again a reflection of the strict lockdowns that Colombians had to endure for much of 2020.
Market leader Claro continued to expand its dominance of the mobile broadband market, increasing its share over the last decade by 10% to reach 54% at the start of 2021. Tigo, conversely, has seen its share halved over the same period of time, yet its subscriber base has still managed to grow on the back of a strong overall market. Tigo also suffered the most from Colombia's imposed lockdowns in 2020, severely impacting its retail sales (a 20% decline in revenue) with nearly half of its stores being forced to close.
Key Developments:
- Movistar and Claro awarded spectrum in the 3.5GHz band for 5G trials;
- Colombia determines internet access to be an essential service;
Avantel acquired by Novator Partners, including 2.3 million subscribers.
MVNO Virgin Mobile fined COP131.67 million for non-compliance with SIC administrative orders regarding protecting users rights.
Fixed-line broadband download speeds increase a 98.2% in the year to June 2021, thanks to investments in fibre.
Setroc becomes another MVNO, using Movistar's infrastructure.
ANE and MinTIC issue Spectrum Policy 2020-2024, aimed at aligning spectrum management across the two agencies.
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Table of Contents
- Key statistics
- Regional Latin America market comparison
- Market characteristics
- Market Leaders
- Market Challengers
- Market Emergents
- TMI versus GDP
- Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
- Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration
- Country overview
- COVID-19 and its impact on the telecom sector
- Economic considerations and responses
- Subscribers
- Infrastructure
- Telecommunications market
- Regulatory environment
- Regulatory authorities
- Communications Regulations Commission (CRC, previously CRT)
- ANTV
- Legislation
- Convergence Decree
- 2009 ICT Law
- Universal Service Fund
- Licensing
- Fixed network developments
- Access
- Number Portability (NP)
- Multi-carrier system/Carrier PreSelection (CPS)
- Subsidies
- Mobile network developments
- Spectrum regulations and auctions
- Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
- Mobile Termination Rate (MTR)
- Roaming
- Wholesale
- Mobile market
- Mobile statistics
- Mobile infrastructure
- 5G
- 4G (LTE)
- 3G
- GSM
- Other infrastructure developments
- Mobile data
- Mobile broadband
- Major mobile operators
- Claro (Comcel/América Móvil)
- Movistar (Telefonica/Colombia Telecomunicaciones)
- Tigo Colombia (Colombia Móvil/Millicom, EPM, ETB)
- Avantel
- UNE
- Mobile Virtual Network Operators
- Fixed-line broadband market
- Government initiatives
- Broadband statistics
- Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks
- Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks
- Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks
- Other fixed broadband services
- WiMAX
- Satellite broadband
- Major network operators
- Movistar (Telefonica Telecom/Colombia Telecom)
- ETB
- Tigo Colombia
- Claro (Telmex Colombia/América Móvil)
- Telecommunications infrastructure
- National telecom network
- International infrastructure
- Submarine cable networks
- Terrestrial links
- Satellite networks
- Appendix - Historic data
- Glossary of abbreviations
- Related reports
List of Tables
List of Charts
List of Exhibits
Companies Mentioned
- Claro (Telmex Colombia/Comcel)
- Movistar
- TigoUne (Tigo Colombia, UNE-EPM)
- Avantel
- DirecTV
- Uff! Móvil
- Metrotel
- Emcali
- Virgin Mobile
- Móvil Éxito
- Edatel
- Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Santa Fe de Bogotá (ETB)
- Setroc.
