The Colombian mobile phone market is entering a new phase of increased concentration following Millicom’s successful completion of a public tender offer for a controlling 67.5 percent stake in Telefónica Colombia Telecomunicaciones. The move reorganizes the sector around two major players, a shift occurring as official data from Colombia’s Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications (MinTIC), as of the second quarter of 2025, already indicates a market dominated by a few operators and significant barriers to entry and continued operation, according to experts.
According to MinTIC’s statistical bulletin for the second quarter of 2025, Colombia had 92.9 million active mobile lines. Claro held the largest share with 44.8 percent of the total, followed by Movistar with 23.3 percent and Tigo with 18.2 percent. WOM accounted for 7.3 percent, Virgin for 3.5 percent, and ETB for 0.2 percent. This distribution already reflected a highly concentrated market before the integration, with the three leading operators controlling more than 86 percent of the lines.
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In terms of mobile internet access, the country recorded 49.1 million connections, with 4G technology predominating at 80.5 percent. 5G reached 6.8 percent, while 3G maintained a 12.3 percent share. Fixed internet access totaled 9.68 million connections, representing another key business area for these operators.
Even before the integration, the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) warned that the Colombian market presented structural competition problems. In opinions submitted to the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC), the regulator pointed to high barriers to both access and continued operation, hindering both the entry of new operators and the sustainability of smaller ones.
Millicom reported that the public tender offer was carried out according to the disclosed terms, with a price of $214.4 million for the controlling stake in Coltel held by Telefónica. The company stated it is awaiting the second phase of the privatization process, launched by the national government, to acquire the remaining shares, scheduled for April.
According to Millicom, the transaction aims to consolidate an operator with the scale and financial capacity to invest in networks, spectrum, and technology. Marcelo Benítez, CEO of Millicom, stated that the acquisition marks a decisive step in strengthening the company’s long-term commitment to Colombia. “It provides us with greater scale, resilience and investment capacity at a time when the sector needs focus and conviction.”
Marcelo Benitez, CEO of Millicom Photo:Millicom
Telefónica Movistar has indicated that the decision “represents an opportunity to build a balanced and sustainable telecommunications sector,” and assured that the integrated operator will have greater investment capacity to accelerate technological deployment and expand service coverage.
Following approval from the SIC in November, the CRC announced it would intensify its regulatory and monitoring efforts. The regulator explained that the conditions imposed by the competition authority would remain in effect until general or specific regulations are issued, positioning the Commission as central to defining the rules applicable to the new integrated operator.
The CRC warned that the wholesale access and mobile origin markets present high levels of concentration, posing risks to operators using National Automatic Roaming and to Mobile Virtual Network Operators.
cell phones. Photo:iStock
In the retail market, it noted that the integration could lead to further concentration and price variations for users. In residential fixed internet, it indicated that the operation could consolidate the integrated operator’s position in several cities and reduce existing competitive pressure.
Felipe Serrano Pinilla, a partner at Serrano Martínez CMA, explained that “the direct impact for consumers will not be immediate,” as services will continue to be provided under the same operating conditions while the technical implementation of the merger progresses. He noted, however, that the SIC recognized the operation would increase market concentration and could facilitate scenarios of coordination between the two resulting major operators, the integrated entity and Claro.
Serrano clarified that the conditions imposed by the SIC are primarily focused on the wholesale market and do not directly regulate retail packages offered to finish users. “Any changes in the retail portfolio will depend on the new operator’s commercial strategies and the response of its competitors,” he indicated.
Carolina Pardo, a partner at Baker McKenzie’s Compliance and Antitrust practice, pointed out that the authorization generates expectations due to the level of concentration in the market, while highlighting that “the SIC has imposed conditions that are expected to effectively mitigate these adverse effects on competition under the new market structure.”
From an institutional perspective, Germán Bacca, former delegate superintendent for the protection of competition, stated that it is absolutely false to claim that “there are more than four mobile operators in Colombia, because in those cases we are talking about Telecall, a company that participated in the 5G auction but does not operate in the country.” He explained that, in practice, the market has three major operators, and that after the integration “two of them will have a share of more than ninety percent in the mobile services market,” placing the country among the most concentrated in Latin America.
Fiber optics are made up of glass filaments and send information through beams of light. Photo:Istock
Bacca warned that “a duopoly structure increases the probability of coordinated effects in the market, where incentives to compete on prices are reduced and risks to users are increased.” He added that, although the SIC presented the conditions as a requirement, “these are mostly behavioral and not structural, which limits their impact on the long-term competitive dynamics.”
WOM has also stated that it is evaluating its continued presence in Colombia under the competition and regulatory conditions. For now, with the completion of the public tender offer, the integration will not be immediate; for several months, Tigo and Movistar will continue to operate under separate brands, users will have their contracts remain in effect without changes, and there will be no automatic modifications to plans, rates, or services. Claro, while facing enhanced regulatory scrutiny, will compete with its rivals on the two fronts where it has the majority of users. Alliances in the sector have develop into popular, with ETB and Directv seeking permission to move forward with one for television services. Financial capacity, investment in coverage, modernization, and technology will then be the new battlegrounds for these companies.
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