Latin America · Telecom
Key Facts
—Colombia Consolidation The combined Tigo-Movistar will control roughly 48% of Colombia’s mobile market, creating a stronger competitor to leading carrier Claro.
—Customer Protections Regulators in Colombia required a four-year freeze on changing existing customer plans so users keep their current rates and services.
—Wholesale Access To support smaller virtual operators, the merged company must offer transparent, non-discriminatory wholesale terms and cut partner fees by 12%–24%.
—Central American Expansion Millicom bought Movistar’s operations in Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica in a $1.7 billion deal in 2019, adding millions of customers.
—Uruguay Entry A $440 million acquisition of Movistar Uruguay, completed in October 2025, officially marked Millicom’s entry into that South American market.
Regulators have approved a historic Tigo and Movistar merger plan in Colombia, while the Tigo brand continues consolidating former Movistar assets across Central America, reshaping competition for millions of users.
Colombia Approves a New National Telecom Force
Colombia’s competition authority, the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC), approved the merger of Colombia Móvil S.A. (Tigo) and Colombia Telecomunicaciones S.A. (Movistar) through Resolution No. 94169 of 2025. The deal is based on Millicom’s purchase of Telefónica’s controlling 67.5% equity stake in Coltel for a base price of $400 million, though as of September 2024 the adjusted purchase price was roughly $362 million.
By February 4, 2026, Tigo had assumed operational control, formally ending Movistar’s autonomy in Colombia. The new, single-led entity controls operations across mobile, fixed internet, and pay TV segments.
Post-merger, estimates show the combined Tigo-Movistar will command around 48% of Colombia’s mobile customer base, bringing it closer to the dominant player Claro and leaving roughly 7% of the market for the smaller operator WOM.
Strict Conditions to Protect Consumers
SIC imposed strict, time-bound conditions to prevent the merged firm from harming competition. The integrated operator must maintain its current commercial offers for existing customers and cannot eliminate, modify, or restrict user plans for a mandatory four-year period.
These rules give consumers certainty that their rates and data packages will not degrade immediately because of the merger.
Regulators also required a permanent technical separation of network cores and an independent external auditor to monitor compliance for the duration of the main conditions. The new entity must submit semiannual reports covering contract changes, service quality, and rural coverage.
The Colombian government also began divesting its shares in Movistar, a sale expected to raise more than COP 855 billion (about $235 million), with Millicom eventually acquiring 100% ownership of Coltel.
A Multi-Year Central American Roll-Up
The Colombia deal follows a much longer consolidation strategy by Millicom in Central America. In February 2019, the company struck a $1.7 billion deal with Telefónica to acquire Movistar operations in Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica.
The Nicaragua acquisition closed that same year, adding about 4 million customers from Movistar, the market leader, to Millicom’s local Tigo unit and expanding joint 4G mobile coverage to 51% of the population.
The Panamanian and Costa Rican operations were also included in the 2019 arrangement, subject to local regulatory reviews. In a more recent shift for Costa Rica, Liberty Latin America and Millicom announced a plan on August 1, 2024, to combine their existing operations in the country, a separate transaction that underscores how telecom assets in the region continue to be reshuffled to achieve greater scale and cost efficiency.
Why This Matters for Residents and Investors
For expats and local residents, the widespread Tigo-Movistar integration signals a fundamental shift in the competitive landscape. While a stronger second operator can finally challenge market leaders like Claro, the reduction of major players from three to two in some markets raises concerns about future pricing power.
Regulators have tried to counteract this by legally mandating wholesale access for virtual network operators (MVNOs) and forcing direct fee reductions—between 12% and 24%—for smaller rivals like WOM that depend on the major networks.
For investors, the current consolidation trend in Latin America, driven by the need for costly 5G and fiber upgrades, is an explicit bet that scale can slash per-customer costs. Millicom’s layered, cross-border strategy—spending $1.7 billion on Central American assets, $400 million in Colombia, and another $440 million to acquire Movistar Uruguay in October 2025—positions Tigo as a pan-regional alternative to its giant competitors.
The key risk remains the hefty regulatory oversight, which imposes multi-year price freezes and governance rules that can delay the full profit benefits of a merger.
The Financial Footprint and Regional Footsteps
Millicom International Cellular S.A., headquartered in Luxembourg and listed on Nasdaq under the ticker TIGO, uses the Tigo brand for its commercial operations across Latin America. In Uruguay, the company completed its acquisition of 100% of Telefónica Móviles del Uruguay S.A. (Movistar Uruguay) for $440 million, marking its official entry into that market after securing approval from the national government.
These financial moves are part of a stated mission to build “digital highways and connect more users and communities throughout the region.” The company’s strategy in Central America and now South America involves acquiring established mobile bases like Movistar’s 4 million Nicaraguan subscribers, and then integrating them with Tigo’s existing cable and fixed-line network to cross-sell services—a model known as fixed-mobile convergence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Tigo and Movistar customers keep their current plans in Colombia?
Yes. Colombian regulators imposed a strict four-year condition that prevents the merged Tigo-Movistar entity from eliminating, modifying, or restricting the commercial plans held by existing customers, ensuring pricing stability during the integration.
How much did Millicom pay for the Movistar operations in Central America?
In 2019, Millicom agreed to pay a total of $1.7 billion for Telefónica’s Movistar businesses in three Central American markets: Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica. The Nicaraguan transaction closed that year, while the other two were still subject to regulatory review at the time.
Will the mergers hurt smaller virtual mobile operators?
Regulators have intervened to protect them. In Colombia, the merged company is obligated to provide equitable, non-discriminatory wholesale terms to mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and must actually lower network access fees for specific competitors like WOM by 12% to 24%.
Sources: ColombiaOne – Tigo and Movistar merger set to reshape Colombia’s telecom market, Access Partnership – Colombia’s Competition Authority approves Movistar–Tigo merger, TeckNexus – Tigo–Movistar merger reshapes Colombia telecom, Millicom completes acquisition of Telefónica in Uruguay, Developing Telecoms – Millicom completes acquisition of Movistar Nicaragua, Liberty Latin America and Millicom agree to combine operations in Costa Rica
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