Tigo in Colombia

The figures here come from the CRC, Colombia’s communications regulator, through its DaTIC data tool, from Millicom’s filings with the SEC and from the Colombian press, each with its date.

How many lines does Tigo have?

DaTIC counted 16.39 million Tigo lines at the end of June 2026, close to 19% of the 86.97 million mobile lines in Colombia. Seven in ten were prepaid: 11.47 million, against 4.92 million postpaid. The total has moved from quarter to quarter, from 18.81 million in September 2025 to 17.10 million in March 2026. DaTIC’s series for Tigo starts in 2012, at 5.89 million lines in the first quarter, and its postpaid lines have grown since then from 0.98 million to 4.92 million. In the regulator’s data the company appears under its legal name, Colombia Móvil.

Tigo’s 4G and 5G

Tigo began selling 4G LTE on 3 December 2013, the same day as Movistar, in Bogotá, Medellín, Barranquilla and Bucaramanga. Phones needed LTE band 4, the 1,700 MHz band. Tigo’s 5G went live on 23 February 2024, the day Claro and Movistar switched theirs on as well. For it, Tigo and Movistar had bid together in the auction of 20 December 2023 and won block 1 of the 3.5 GHz band, 80 MHz wide, for COP 318,306 million.

Who owns Tigo?

Tigo is the brand of Colombia Móvil, a subsidiary of UNE EPM Telecomunicaciones. UNE and its subsidiaries have traded under the Tigo name since April 2019, while keeping their legal names. Until January 2026 Millicom and EPM each held half of UNE. Millicom then bought EPM’s shares for about COP 2.1 trillion, some USD 571 million, and closed on 29 January 2026. On 6 February 2026 it also took 67.5% of Colombia Telecomunicaciones, the company that runs Movistar, and on 27 April 2026 it completed the purchase of the remaining 32.5%.

What happens to Movistar?

The two networks already share their mobile access. In January 2025 they ran a single network in Ibagué, on 12 sites, and in the urban area of Madrid, Cundinamarca, while each company kept selling its services on its own. In October 2026 Millicom launched “Movistar ahora es Tigo” (Movistar is now Tigo), a gradual move from the Movistar brand to a single Tigo brand. It set out COP 8.5 trillion of investment over four years. Its network plan for 2026 to 2028 adds more than 1,100 sites, for 11,500 in all, and takes 5G from 128 to 324 municipalities, with more than 4,000 sites offering it.

Tigo’s own eSIM

Tigo sells a prepaid eSIM line on its website, bought and switched on online, with unlimited calls within Colombia. Its page asks for an unlocked phone that works with Tigo’s eSIM: dialling *#06# should bring up an EID code. It also warns that an eSIM you delete cannot be installed again.

Install the eSIMSwitch it on after landingNo connection