Colombia

Mobile Network Experience Report
July 2019

Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumer mobile experience. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding the true experience consumers receive on wireless networks.

Author
Peter Boyland Senior Analyst

Key Findings

Movistar pulls ahead of the pack in Video Experience

Movistar increased its Video Experience score by nearly 5 points (out of 100) to win our award, following a three-way draw in this metric six months ago. The operator also managed to score Good Video Experience ratings (55-65) in all six cities we analyzed.

Huge improvement in Latency Experience sees Movistar jump from third to first place

Movistar managed to improve its Latency Experience score by over 20 milliseconds since our last report, leapfrogging both its rivals to win our award. This big improvement also helped the operator to gain the edge in our Video Experience category because lower latencies means video usually starts to play more quickly.

All of Colombia's operators improve their Download and Upload Speed Experience

Tigo won our Download Speed Experience award, while Movistar took Upload Speed Experience — the same result as in our last report. All three of Colombia's operators showed some growth across most of our speed metrics, with two cities now seeing at least one Download Speed Experience score over 20 Mbps.

Movistar and Tigo tie in a very tight 4G Availability race

Two operators drew for our 4G Availability award, as neither Movistar nor Tigo showed any significant growth over the past six months. But third-placed Claro grew its score by over four percentage points to come within a point of the leaders.

Introduction

In our last few reports on the Colombian market, we haven't really seen a clear leader, with awards scattered among the three operators and ties aplenty. But our latest look at the market shows one operator is finally starting to assert dominance. Movistar scooped three of our national awards and drew in a fourth, pulling ahead of the pack in Video Experience and putting in a hugely impressive surge to jump from third to first place in Latency Experience. And there is no doubt that Colombia's mobile networks are improving, as all three operators now have 4G Availability scores over 70% while their Download Speed Experience has surpassed 10 Mbps.

In this report, we've analyzed the mobile network experience for Colombia's three key operators, Claro, Movistar and Tigo, over the 90 days from the start of March 2019. On top of our national level analysis we've also examined the operator's scores in six of the largest cities, Barranquilla, Bogota, Bucaramanga, Cali, Cartagena and Medellin, across our five award metrics, including analysis of regional operator Avantel.

Opensignal Awards Table

Mobile Experience Awards Colombia
July 2019, Colombia Report
4G Availability
Video Experience
Download Speed Experience
Upload Speed Experience
Latency Experience
Download Image
Mobile Experience Awards Winners
July 2019, Colombia
Video Experience
Download Speed Experience
Upload Speed Experience
Latency Experience
Mobile Experience Awards Draws
July 2019, Colombia
4G Availability
Download Image

Overview

Click on metric labels below for a quick preview
4G Availability
% of time
Claro
73.5
Movistar
73.8
Tigo
75.2
020406080
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Download Image

National Analysis

4G Availability

We saw a draw in our 4G Availability category between Movistar and Tigo — the same result we found in our last report, as there has been very little change in either operator's scores in the past six months. Indeed, the only operator which saw any significant growth in 4G Availability was third-placed Claro, whose score grew over 4 percentage points to reach 73.5% — just a few tenths-of-a-percentage point behind the winners. All three of Colombia's operators now have scores over 70%, and competition is very tight in this metric.

4G Availability
% of time
Claro
73.5
Movistar
73.8
Tigo
75.2
020406080
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Download Image

Video Experience

All three of Colombia's operators have improved their Video Experience scores, but it was Movistar who put in a sprint to take our national award. We saw a three-way draw in this category six months ago, with barely 2 points (out of 100) separating the country's operators. Claro and Tigo both have seen their scores improve by around two points in the past six months, but Movistar's leapt by nearly five points to propel the operator into the lead.

Video Experience
in 0-100 points
Claro
49.8
Movistar
53.9
Tigo
51.1
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
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Video Experience
Additional Metrics
in 0-100 points
4G Video Experience
65.6 (± 0.49) 67.0 (± 0.65) 63.1 (± 0.78)
3G Video Experience
27.9 (± 0.84) 33.1 (± 1.17) 32.5 (± 1.02)
+/- numeric values represent confidence intervals.
Mobile Network Experience Report | July 2019 | © Opensignal Limited
4G Video Experience in 0-100 points
66 (± 0.49)
67 (± 0.65)
63 (± 0.78)
3G Video Experience in 0-100 points
28 (± 0.84)
33 (± 1.17)
32 (± 1.02)
Mobile Network Experience Report | July 2019 | © Opensignal Inc.

All three of Colombia's operators remain in our Fair Video Experience rating (40-55) — although Movistar's score is approaching a Good ranking (55-65). A Fair rating is characterized by slower video loading times and more frequent stalling during playback, especially at higher resolutions. This score was mirrored in Colombia's national Video Experience score of 48.8 in our most recent global State of Mobile Network Experience report, where the operator ranked mid-table amongst its Latin American peers.

We often attribute improvements in our other metrics to increases in 4G Availability, as it follows that our users' mobile experience will improve if they are able to connect to 4G networks more often. However, in this instance, Movistar's victory in Video Experience appears to be down to an improvement in its network latency. As we will see below, the operator showed a huge improvement in its Latency Experience score — and a good network latency is key to improving Video Experience.

Download Speed Experience

It was very much a case of status quo in our Download Speed Experience table, as Tigo kept hold of our award, increasing its score by around 1 Mbps since our last report. Second-placed Movistar saw a similar improvement, while Claro saw a smaller increase, dropping a bit further behind its rivals.

Download Speed Experience
in Mbps
Claro
10.0
Movistar
11.3
Tigo
12.6
03.757.511.2515
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Download Image
Download Speed Experience
Additional Metrics
in Mbps
4G Download Speed
14.7 (± 0.20) 16.2 (± 0.28) 18.4 (± 0.32)
3G Download Speed
3.5 (± 0.05) 3.5 (± 0.07) 3.6 (± 0.08)
+/- numeric values represent confidence intervals.
Mobile Network Experience Report | July 2019 | © Opensignal Limited
4G Download Speed in Mbps
15 (± 0.20)
16 (± 0.28)
18 (± 0.32)
3G Download Speed in Mbps
3 (± 0.05)
3 (± 0.07)
4 (± 0.08)
Mobile Network Experience Report | July 2019 | © Opensignal Inc.

Movistar is closing the gap on Tigo in our download speed measurements — and this trend was more noticeable in our 4G Download Speed scores. Both Tigo and Claro saw their scores fall slightly in this category, while Movistar's stayed virtually the same. Our 4G Download Speed measurements are having an increasing impact on our overall Download Speed Experience scores, as 4G Availability in Colombia grows. If the trends we see in 4G Download Speed continue we will see Movistar threatening Tigo's lead in overall download, while Claro risks falling further behind the pack.

Upload Speed Experience

Our Upload Speed Experience results in this report were very similar to download — except with a different winner. Movistar kept our Upload Speed Experience award with a score exactly 20% faster than its closest rival Tigo, but there wasn't any significant growth in any of the operator's scores since our last report. Indeed, in our 4G Download Speed measurements, Movistar and Tigo's scores stayed virtually the same while Claro's dropped by 0.4 Mbps.

Upload Speed Experience
in Mbps
Claro
3.5
Movistar
5.0
Tigo
4.0
01.252.53.755
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Download Image
Upload Speed Experience
Additional Metrics
in Mbps
4G Upload Speed
5.8 (± 0.10) 7.8 (± 0.16) 6.3 (± 0.16)
3G Upload Speed
0.5 (± 0.01) 0.6 (± 0.02) 0.4 (± 0.02)
+/- numeric values represent confidence intervals.
Mobile Network Experience Report | July 2019 | © Opensignal Limited
4G Upload Speed in Mbps
6 (± 0.10)
8 (± 0.16)
6 (± 0.16)
3G Upload Speed in Mbps
0 (± 0.01)
1 (± 0.02)
0 (± 0.02)
Mobile Network Experience Report | July 2019 | © Opensignal Inc.

The fairly mediocre Upload Speed Experience scores were reflected in our recent global report, where Colombia ranked third from bottom compared with its Latin American neighbours. Colombia's average national score was just 3.6 Mbps — only just managing to beat its much smaller peers El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, and putting the country in the bottom third of the 87 global markets we analyzed.

Latency Experience

Our users on Movistar's network saw a huge improvement in their Latency Experience, as the operator's score improved by over 20 milliseconds to reach 63.9ms. This improvement enabled Movistar to leap from third to first place in our table in just six months and grab Opensignal's Latency Experience award. Claro bettered its own score by close to 6ms, while Tigo also saw a smaller improvement.

Latency Experience
in ms The lower the figure the better the latency
Claro
72.0
Movistar
63.9
Tigo
67.6
018.7537.556.2575
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Download Image
Latency Experience
Additional Metrics
in ms
4G Latency
59.1 (± 0.34) 56.1 (± 0.45) 44.0 (± 0.40)
3G Latency
90.1 (± 0.65) 76.3 (± 0.96) 103.9 (± 1.74)
+/- numeric values represent confidence intervals.
Mobile Network Experience Report | July 2019 | © Opensignal Limited
4G Latency in ms
59 (± 0.34)
56 (± 0.45)
44 (± 0.40)
3G Latency in ms
90 (± 0.65)
76 (± 0.96)
104 (± 1.74)
Mobile Network Experience Report | July 2019 | © Opensignal Inc.

The huge improvement in Movistar's Latency Experience not only allowed it to take our award, but it also contributed to the operator's victory in our Video Experience category. Good network latency is becoming increasingly important to the mobile user experience as user habits shift towards data-hungry applications like video streaming, live chat and online multiplayer gaming. Colombia's latency is still a far cry from the sub-40ms measurements we are regularly seeing in more developed markets — although the new spectrum the operators stand to gain in the country's forthcoming auction could help improve these scores.

Regional Analysis

The improvement we've seen in Colombia's national metrics has been mirrored in the country's largest cities. All three operators now have 4G Availability scores over 80% in Barranquilla and Bogota, while Movistar hit a high of 87% in Cali.

In Download Speed Experience, our users on Movistar's network in Barranquilla and Tigo's in Cali now enjoy average speeds of over 20 Mbps. But Tigo saw the greatest increase we measured in Bogota, where its users’ Download Speed Experience jumped 14% in the past six months to reach 14.5 Mbps. Indeed, in our recent analysis of 4G Download Speeds experienced by our users across six of the largest cities in Latin America, Bogota saw speeds of up to 27.5 Mbps at peak times of the day.

In our regional analysis of Video Experience, Movistar was the standout operator, scoring Good ratings (55-65) in all six cities. The operator managed a huge improvement of 25% in its score in Medellin to reach 59.6 — but it was still held to a draw in the city by Claro (although it overtook Avantel). Movistar also managed to improve its Latency Experience score by over a quarter in Medellin — but only managed two regional wins in this metric in Barranquilla and Cali.

Select any region or city below to display individual breakdown

Barranquilla

4G Availability
in Barranquilla
% of time
Claro
81.4
Movistar
84.6
Tigo
82.1
Download Image
Video Experience
in Barranquilla
in 0-100 points
Claro
58.5
Movistar
66.3
Tigo
51.0
Download Image
Download Speed Experience
in Barranquilla
in Mbps
Claro
16.3
Movistar
20.1
Tigo
11.1
Download Image
Upload Speed Experience
in Barranquilla
in Mbps
Claro
5.9
Movistar
8.8
Tigo
3.5
Download Image
Latency Experience
in Barranquilla
in ms
Claro
67.1
Movistar
53.9
Tigo
66.6
Download Image

Bogota

4G Availability
in Bogota
% of time
Claro
81.9
Movistar
82.9
Tigo
83.6
Avantel
80.8
Download Image
Video Experience
in Bogota
in 0-100 points
Claro
55.0
Movistar
56.1
Tigo
56.4
Avantel
58.9
Download Image
Download Speed Experience
in Bogota
in Mbps
Claro
10.1
Movistar
9.3
Tigo
14.5
Avantel
9.8
Download Image
Upload Speed Experience
in Bogota
in Mbps
Claro
4.6
Movistar
5.1
Tigo
5.3
Avantel
5.7
Download Image
Latency Experience
in Bogota
in ms
Claro
61.8
Movistar
55.9
Tigo
51.9
Avantel
50.6
Download Image

Bucaramanga

4G Availability
in Bucaramanga
% of time
Claro
76.6
Movistar
80.4
Tigo
79.9
Download Image
Video Experience
in Bucaramanga
in 0-100 points
Claro
52.3
Movistar
56.6
Tigo
57.1
Download Image
Download Speed Experience
in Bucaramanga
in Mbps
Claro
12.2
Movistar
12.0
Tigo
17.0
Download Image
Upload Speed Experience
in Bucaramanga
in Mbps
Claro
4.1
Movistar
5.0
Tigo
6.7
Download Image
Latency Experience
in Bucaramanga
in ms
Claro
80.9
Movistar
68.1
Tigo
59.7
Download Image

Cali

4G Availability
in Cali
% of time
Claro
75.1
Movistar
87.2
Tigo
77.0
Download Image
Video Experience
in Cali
in 0-100 points
Claro
53.1
Movistar
62.6
Tigo
62.1
Download Image
Download Speed Experience
in Cali
in Mbps
Claro
12.5
Movistar
15.1
Tigo
20.4
Download Image
Upload Speed Experience
in Cali
in Mbps
Claro
3.6
Movistar
7.9
Tigo
8.6
Download Image
Latency Experience
in Cali
in ms
Claro
64.1
Movistar
52.7
Tigo
61.2
Download Image

Cartagena

4G Availability
in Cartagena
% of time
Claro
73.9
Movistar
74.5
Tigo
76.5
Download Image
Video Experience
in Cartagena
in 0-100 points
Claro
52.6
Movistar
64.1
Tigo
44.7
Download Image
Download Speed Experience
in Cartagena
in Mbps
Claro
11.6
Movistar
17.9
Tigo
10.0
Download Image
Upload Speed Experience
in Cartagena
in Mbps
Claro
4.0
Movistar
6.8
Tigo
3.1
Download Image
Latency Experience
in Cartagena
in ms
Claro
84.9
Movistar
64.7
Tigo
68.0
Download Image

Medellin

4G Availability
in Medellin
% of time
Claro
81.1
Movistar
84.4
Tigo
80.0
Avantel
72.1
Download Image
Video Experience
in Medellin
in 0-100 points
Claro
58.1
Movistar
59.6
Tigo
52.7
Avantel
52.6
Download Image
Download Speed Experience
in Medellin
in Mbps
Claro
11.9
Movistar
15.9
Tigo
12.7
Avantel
9.3
Download Image
Upload Speed Experience
in Medellin
in Mbps
Claro
4.8
Movistar
6.0
Tigo
3.7
Avantel
4.0
Download Image
Latency Experience
in Medellin
in ms
Claro
60.9
Movistar
70.1
Tigo
57.0
Avantel
58.7
Download Image
Learn more

Opensignal measures the real-world experience of consumers on mobile networks in the places they live, work and travel.

We continually adapt our methodology to best represent the true experience of smartphone users. Therefore, comparisons of the results to past reports should be considered indicative only.

For every metric we calculate statistical confidence intervals indicated on our graphs. When confidence intervals overlap, our measured results are too close to declare a winner. In those cases, we show a statistical draw. For this reason, some metrics have multiple winners.

In our bar graphs we represent confidence intervals as boundaries on either sides of graph bars. In our supporting-metric charts we show confidence intervals as +/- numerical values.

More about Methodology

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For every metric we calculate statistical confidence intervals indicated on our graphs. When confidence intervals overlap, our measured results are too close to declare a winner. In those cases, we show a statistical draw. For this reason, some metrics have multiple operator winners.

In our bar graphs we represent confidence intervals as boundaries on either sides of graph bars.

In our supporting-metric charts we show confidence intervals as +/- numerical values.

Why confidence intervals are vital in analyzing mobile network experience