subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 14.23 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 741,269
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 19.32 (2019 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular
total subscriptions: 66,283,175
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 134.47 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 5,599,005
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 145.92 (2019 est.)
Internet country code
.co
.pa
Internet users
total: 29,990,017
percent of population: 62.26% (July 2018 est.)
total: 2,199,433
percent of population: 57.87% (July 2018 est.)
Telecommunication systems
general assessment:
Colombia's telecom infrastructure has improved through a government program of competition to upgrade services based on LTE and 5G, focusing on infrastructure in small urban centers and rural areas; national ICT Plan increased broadband and fiber connectivity; operators testing 5G and completed 20k terrestrial cable connecting 80% of the country; benefit due to access to commercial submarine cable (2021)
(2020)
domestic: fixed-line connections stand at about 14 per 100 persons; mobile cellular telephone subscribership is about 132 per 100 persons; competition among cellular service providers is resulting in falling local and international calling rates and contributing to the steep decline in the market share of fixed-line services; domestic satellite system with 41 earth stations (2019)
international: country code - 57; landing points for the SAC, Maya-1, SAIT, ACROS, AMX-1, CFX-1, PCCS, Deep Blue Cable, Globe Net, PAN-AM, SAm-1 submarine cable systems providing links to the US, parts of the Caribbean, and Central and South America; satellite earth stations - 10 (6 Intelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 3 fully digitalized international switching centers) (2019)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments
general assessment:
domestic and international facilities well-developed; steady increase in telecom revenue with effective competition; mobile connections account for 90% of connections; government-funded program to improve Internet infrastructure; connectivity through two submarine cables; launch of LTE services; Chinese company Huawei investment in bandwidth technologies; importer of broadcasting equipment from China (2021)
(2020)
domestic: fixed-line 17 per 100 and rapid subscribership of mobile-cellular telephone 132 per 100 (2019)
international: country code - 507; landing points for the PAN-AM, ARCOS, SAC, AURORA, PCCS, PAC, and the MAYA-1 submarine cable systems that together provide links to the US and parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to the Central American Microwave System (2019)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments
Broadband - fixed subscriptions
total: 6,949,852
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 14.1 (2019 est.)
total: 523,530
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 13.64 (2019 est.)
Broadcast media
combination of state-owned and privately owned broadcast media provide service; more than 500 radio stations and many national, regional, and local TV stations (2019)
multiple privately owned TV networks and a government-owned educational TV station; multi-channel cable and satellite TV subscription services are available; more than 100 commercial radio stations (2019)
