Tigo and Movistar, the two operators that Millicom consolidates in Colombia, jointly lost some 400,000 mobile internet accesses in the second quarter of 2026, while the group announces an investment of 8.5 trillion (tn) pesos (around US$2.665 billion (bn)) for 5G and fiber.
Tigo (Colombia Móvil) went from 8.6 to 8.3 million accesses between the first and second quarters, and Movistar (Coltel) from 9.2 to 9.1 million, according to BNamericas calculations based on data from the Ministry of ICT (MinTIC).
In the same period, Claro grew 1.1%, from 28.4 to 28.7 million, and WOM, from 2.4 to 2.5 million. The total market barely moved: 49.6 million accesses, just 36,000 more than in the previous quarter. With these figures, Tigo and Movistar’s combined share fell from 35.9% to 35.1%, while Claro’s rose from 57.3% to 57.9%.
The number portability data from the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) point in the same direction. In the second quarter, Tigo posted a negative net balance of 259,100 lines and Movistar went from gaining 182,600 lines a year earlier to losing 15,800, a change that the regulator attributes to the takeover by Millicom on February 4. Claro, by contrast, added 207,700 net lines and WOM, 50,100.
In fixed internet, Claro went from 3.55 to 3.63 million accesses between the first and second quarter, while UNE EPM, Tigo’s fixed operation, fell from 1.85 to 1.82 million.
With both transactions, Millicom ranks as the country’s second-largest operator.
The group disbursed about US$1.025bn to take control of Coltel (Movistar) and UNE. Its 8.5tn pesos four-year plan envisages 5G in 80% of the main cities and more than 1,200 sites for about two million Colombians without mobile service or without a second provider. Its CEO, Marcelo Benítez, also projected savings of more than US$100 million (mn) in the first year.
The total number of mobile lines fell by 7.6 million in the quarter, to 87 million, although Virgin (from 3.3 to 3.4 million) and Móvil Éxito (from 2.3 to 2.4 million) increased.
Some of the users who left Tigo and Movistar migrated to mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). According to the CRC, five MVNOs closed the quarter with a positive portability balance, led by Móvil Éxito (8,400 lines) and ETB (6,400), with users who came mainly from those two companies.
(The original version of this content was written in Spanish)