Internet in Colombia for Travelers: Networks, SIM Rules and Wi-Fi

Setting up a HelloRoam eSIM for Colombia before the flight lets you skip the SIM counter. It joins a Colombian network when you land and only then starts counting plan days, so maps and WhatsApp work before you reach the taxi line.

Claro's 4G network reaches the most places in Colombia

Colombia's telecom regulator, the Comisión de Regulación de Comunicaciones (CRC), publishes each operator's figures on its Postdata portal. The table shows phone subscribers for the second quarter of 2026 and the places where each network reported 4G and 5G at the end of 2025, out of 8,161 town centers and villages in the CRC's mobile coverage data.

Get your Colombia eSIM before you flyInstall it at home, then turn on data roaming for it when you land. From $3.38.See Colombia plans

For a trip outside the big cities, reach matters more than speed. 5G is still rare: Claro reported it in 352 of the 8,161 places, Movistar and Tigo in 144 each, and WOM in none.

Popular small towns are well covered by the three biggest networks. Claro, Movistar and Tigo each reported 4G over more than 99% of the town centers of Salento, Guatapé, Jardín, Villa de Leyva, Minca, Palomino, Capurganá, Nuquí and Leticia. WOM reported no 4G in Jardín, Palomino, Capurganá, Nuquí or Leticia. The data maps town centers, not the hiking trails and roads between them.

Two brand changes are under way. Millicom, Tigo's parent company, completed its purchase of Colombia Telecomunicaciones, the company behind Movistar, in April 2026, and Movistar's website now reads "Movistar ahora es Tigo" (Movistar is now Tigo). WOM's operator, Partners Telecom Colombia, runs its site from a temporary address, movilPT.co, and says a name change is coming. The CRC's figures above still count all four apart.

AT&T and Verizon day passes cost $12 a day in Colombia

AT&T's International Day Pass costs $12 a day in Colombia, plus $6 for each extra line used the same day. AT&T's terms say the fee starts the first time you use data, make or receive a call, or send a text there, so answering one call from home can start a $12 day. The terms also cap it at 10 daily fees per line in each monthly bill cycle.

Some AT&T customers pay nothing extra. AT&T's Latin America roaming page lists Colombia among the 20+ Latin American countries where AT&T Premium 2.0 and AT&T Elite 2.0 plans include unlimited talk, text and high-speed data at no extra cost.

Verizon's TravelPass also costs $12 a day in Colombia. It gives you 5 GB of high-speed data per TravelPass session, then 3G speeds. For trips of 9 days or longer, Verizon points to its $100 International Monthly Plan with 20 GB of high-speed data, and its Unlimited Ultimate plan already includes international data, talk and text.

T-Mobile builds Colombia into its plans instead. Its Colombia page gives Better Value plans 30 GB of high-speed data, Experience Beyond and Go5G Next plans 15 GB, and Experience More, Go5G Plus, MAX and One Plus plans 5 GB, all dropping to 256 kbps after that. Go5G, Magenta and One plans get 256 kbps data from the start, calls cost $0.50 a minute, and prepaid lines get no international data roaming. Here's how T-Mobile's international roaming works in more detail.

Now the math for one line used every day. A week costs 7 × $12 = $84 on AT&T or Verizon. Over 14 days, TravelPass adds up to $168, so Verizon's $100 monthly plan costs less, while AT&T's cap stops the Day Pass at $120 per line within one bill cycle. To weigh those numbers against a data plan, compare a travel eSIM with roaming.

A local line in Colombia needs your passport and a registered phone

Tigo sells a prepaid eSIM for visitors on its website: COP 50,000 for 30 GB, valid for 30 days or until the data runs out, with unlimited calls within Colombia. Tigo calls its USD 12.50 figure indicative. At Colombia's official exchange rate on October 23, 2026, COP 3,185.01 to the dollar, COP 50,000 comes to about $15.70. Claro's 30-day prepaid Todo incluido package with 12 GB costs COP 35,000.

Lines like these come with a Colombian phone number, which a data-only travel eSIM can't give you. They also come with paperwork. Under the CRC's rules for prepaid lines, added in 2025, the operator must collect your ID type, number and issue date before it switches the line on. For a foreign visitor, that ID is your passport, and the operator records it.

Then comes the phone check. Colombia keeps a database of registered phones, and a phone you bring from abroad isn't in it until you register it. Under the CRC's rules as updated in 2025, when a Colombian line turns up in an unregistered phone whose model the CRC has approved, the operator must text you within 2 calendar days. You then have 20 calendar days to register the phone before its IMEI goes on the blocked list for Colombian networks.

You register with the operator that sold you the line. Claro, Tigo and Movistar each link a registration page from their websites ("Registrar imei", "Registra tu equipo" and "Registre su equipo"). Under the CRC's steps, you keep the Colombian SIM in your phone, the operator may text a code to your new number, and it reads the phone's IMEI from its network and asks you to confirm it.

The rule skips phones that are roaming. Colombia's Decree 2025 of 2015 exempts phones roaming internationally on a Colombian network from registration. Your US line on a day pass roams, and so does a travel eSIM, which is why its setup asks you to turn on data roaming for that line.

Any local line also needs an unlocked phone. To check an iPhone, Apple says to open Settings, tap General, then About. "No SIM Restrictions" next to Carrier Lock means it's unlocked.

A travel eSIM is ready to use when you land in Colombia

A travel eSIM is a data plan you download to your phone at home over Wi-Fi. Apple's travel eSIM guide lists the iPhone XS, XS Max, XR and later, and the phone must be unlocked. Check that your phone supports eSIM before you buy.

As of October 29, 2026, our catalog lists two networks for HelloRoam's single-country Colombia plans: Movistar's 5G and Claro's 4G. Claro's is the one that reported 4G in the most places in the table above. Networks can change, and the plan page lists the current ones. The plan's days start at the eSIM's first connection in Colombia. When you land, switch the line on, turn on data roaming for that line and pick it for mobile data.

Our plans give you data only. They don't support calls, texts or emergency calls, so keep your US line on for calls, and remember that one answered call can start AT&T's $12 day. To keep data on the eSIM, open Settings, tap Cellular, then Cellular Data, and choose the travel line. On that screen, turn off Allow Cellular Data Switching. If that switch is on, your iPhone can take data from your US line as well, depending on coverage, as Apple's Dual SIM instructions explain. Apple also warns that you might still pay roaming fees on your home line if both lines stay on.

Heading on to Ecuador or Peru? Our South America eSIM covers both on the same plan as Colombia. In Colombia, that same catalog check lists Movistar's and Tigo's networks for it, not Claro's. To size any plan, estimate your trip's data use first.

Free Wi-Fi in Colombia starts at El Dorado airport

Bogotá's El Dorado airport offers free Wi-Fi to all passengers and visitors. Join the Airport_El_Dorado network, enter your details on the access portal, and reconnect as often as you need at no cost. Its Premium Wi-Fi for one device costs COP 15,000 for an hour or COP 49,000 for a day.

Airport Wi-Fi stops at the curb, though. It won't help in the taxi, on a day trip to Guatapé or along the Caribbean coast. If you also need a laptop online, compare pocket Wi-Fi devices and their alternatives before you pack one more gadget.

The right way to get internet in Colombia depends on your trip

• A long weekend with good hotel Wi-Fi: your carrier's pass on the days you're out. Three days at $12 cost $36. Check first whether your AT&T or Verizon plan already includes Colombia.
• One to two weeks: a travel eSIM set up at home. Pick Tigo's 30 GB visitor eSIM instead if you want a Colombian number and don't mind registering your phone.
• A month or more: a Colombian prepaid line, with your phone registered when the operator's text arrives.
• Colombia plus Ecuador or Peru: a regional eSIM that covers all three on one plan.

A note on bias: HelloRoam sells travel eSIMs, so we've kept the cases where a day pass or a Colombian line is the better buy. Our conflict-of-interest rules explain how we handle that.

We read each outside source cited in this guide on October 23, 2026. They include the CRC's rules and coverage data, plus the AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Tigo and Claro pages.