There are three major Internet and cable TV providers in Medellín, which offer triple-play Internet, TV and phone services: Claro, Tigo and Movistar. We provide a guide to Internet and cable TV providers in Medellín and Colombia updated for 2021.
Also, for TV services there is the option of DirecTV, which includes Internet in some metropolitan areas in Colombia. In addition, HughesNet offers satellite Internet services in Colombia. And Conekto offers Internet service to some of the more rural areas in Antioquia near Medellín.
In 2020, there reportedly were 35.0 million Internet users in Colombia, which has a population of about 49 million. The majority of these Internet users in Colombia are mobile users with less than 12 million in Colombia with broadband connections in 2019.
In my first apartment in Colombia over eight years ago, I had triple-play service from UNE, which is now named Tigo after a merger. Claro and Movistar weren’t available in that building.
However, the service from UNE (now Tigo) was unreliable and made it difficult to work from home. So, when I moved I switched to Claro, which has much more reliable service in my experience.
In early 2019, we moved to a casa (house) in Sabaneta and installed triple-play service from Claro with 30 Mbps Internet, TV service for two TVs with several HD channels, and fijo (fixed-line) phone service.
Several Medellin Guru readers asked about Internet and Cable TV providers in Medellín. So, this is our up-to-date guide for 2021 to Internet and Cable TV providers in Medellín and how to sign up.
The Claro store on the third floor in Los Molinos
1. Claro’s Triple-Play Service – Medellín Internet and Cable TV Providers
Claro is the brand used by Mexico-based América Móvil in Colombia and many other countries in Latin America. In addition, Claro is the largest telecommunications provider in Colombia.
In addition, Claro has the highest market share in Colombia for fixed broadband Internet with a market share of about 33 percent.
Claro currently has a promotion for triple-play service for 123,900 pesos ($35 USD) per month in estrato 4, which includes:
- 30 Mbps Internet
- 101 regular TV channels + 62 HD channels
- Fixed line (fijo) telephone service with unlimited calls to fixed line phones
This promotion price is for the first year and then increases the following year. Claro offers Internet speed of up to 300 Mbps and triple-play service with this higher speed costs 279,900 pesos ($78 USD) per month in estrato 4, which includes:
- 300 Mbps Internet
- 101 regular TV channels + 64 HD channels
- Fixed line (fijo) telephone service with unlimited calls to fixed line phones
In estrato 6, these prices from Claro increase to 132,900 pesos ($37 USD) per month for triple-play with 30 Mbps Internet and 288,900 pesos ($80 USD) per month for triple-play with 300 Mbps Internet.
Claro offers Internet speeds of 30 Mbps, 40 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 150 Mbps, 200 Mbps and 300 Mbps, with all speeds offered in all estratos. Also, Claro also has additional TV channel packages available for additional costs.
Claro’s basic TV channel package includes several movie channels and program channels with English language options and several news channels in English are available. I regularly watch several popular series from the U.S. including The Blacklist, NCIS, Criminal Minds, CSI and Law & Order Special Victims Unit.
We currently have Claro’s triple-play service with 30 Mbps Internet, two TV decoders for HD TVs and fijo phone services and we are very happy with it. Also, the Internet service from Claro over the past several years has been more reliable than my Verizon FiOS service was in the United States.
My Experience Signing Up with Claro as a Foreigner
In previous places we lived in Medellín our triple-play service from Claro was in my Colombian wife’s name. But when we moved in early 2019, we decided to establish service in my name.
I went to the Claro store in Mayorca mall. And it took less than an hour to wait in line and sign up for service. I needed my cedula and they ran a quick credit check and asked some questions.
Note that since I did this in early 2019, the Claro store in Mayorca mall no longer provides services for establishing service at home. It only offers sales and the ability to pay Claro bills. So, to sign up for home services you would need to go to the Claro store in another location such as Premium Plaza mall or Los Molinos mall or do this online.
Also, before I signed up I found that Claro offers a discount for triple-play service if you have a post-paid cell phone contract with Claro, which I do.
So, I was able to sign up for Claro’s triple-play service with 30 Mbps Internet, two TV decoders for two HD TVs and phone services for a total of 119,900 pesos ($33 USD) monthly in estrato 3. Claro included a discount since I have a post-paid cell phone contract with Claro.
I went to the Claro office on a Saturday and the installation was scheduled for the following Tuesday. Claro showed up when they were scheduled and the installation took two hours, as they had to install new cables in the house.
Tigo store in Florida Parque mall
2. Tigo’s Triple-Play Service – Medellín Internet and Cable TV Providers
Tigo is the local brand of Sweden-based Millicom and merged with UNE in 2014. In addition, Tigo is the second largest broadband Internet provider in Colombia with a market share of about 24 percent.
Tigo currently has a promotion for triple-play service for 126,000 pesos per month in estrato 4, which includes:
- 25 Mbps Internet
- 125 regular TV channels + 65 HD channels
- Fixed line (fijo) telephone service
Tigo-UNE offers Internet speed of up to 300 Mbps and triple-play service with this higher speed costs 330,000 pesos per month in estrato 4, which includes:
- 150 Mbps Internet
- 125 regular TV channels + 100 HD channels
- Fixed line (fijo) telephone service
Tigo-UNE offers Internet speeds of 30 Mbps, 60 Mbps and 300 Mbps. Also, Tigo-UNE has additional TV packages available for extra charges like HBO-MAX or FOX Premium.
The Movistar store in Premium Plaza Mall
3. Movistar’s Triple-Play Service – Medellín Internet and Cable TV Providers
Movistar is the brand used by Spain-based Telefónica in Colombia and many other countries in Latin America.
In addition, Movistar is the third largest broadband Internet provider in Colombia with a market share of about 19 percent.
Movistar offers triple-play services. But Movistar in some places offers slower Internet speeds in Medellín, as it uses ADSL technology that is limited to 15 Mbps. Where Movistar has fiber optics, Movistar offers a higher speed up to 300 Mbps.
Movistar currently has a 20 percent promotion for its slower speed. So, Movistar’s triple-play services in Medellín with 10 Mbps Internet, TV with 86 channels and fixed line (fijo) telephone service in estrato 4 for only 103,920 pesos ($27) per month.
If located in an area where Movistar has fiber options, Movistar offers triple-play with 300 Mbps Internet, TV with 86 channels and fixed line (fijo) telephone service in estrato 4 for 202,900 pesos ($52) per month.
Movistar offers Internet speeds of 6 Mbps and 10 Mbps where it uses ADSL technology and where it has fiber optics the company offers speeds of 80 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 200 Mbps and 300 Mbps.
DirecTV stand in Mayorca mall
4. DirecTV Options in Colombia
DirectTV offers satellite TV services and in some parts of Colombia offers satellite TV services along with Internet services. DirecTV uses third party Internet service providers to offer its Internet services in Colombia.
Unfortunately, per their website, DirecTV doesn’t look to offer Internet services in Medellín. But where DirecTV has Internet available in Colombia, they offer Internet speeds of 2 Mbps, 4 Mbps, 6 Mbps, 10 Mbps and 20 Mbps. DirectTV offers prepago (pay in advance) and pospago plans in Colombia.
DirectTV’s prepago plan includes access to 92 regular TV channels, 56 HD channels and 44 audio channels.
DirectTV’s pospago plan in Colombia has a few packages available with prices ranging from 102,900 to 146,400 pesos per month depending on the package and number of decoders. Here are three DirectTV pospago plans:
- Silver HD – with 104 regular TV channels, 40 audio channels and 62 HD channels.
- Gold HD – with 125 regular TV channels, 40 audio channels and 74 HD channels.
- Gold 4K – with 113 regular, 75 HD channels and 1 4K channel.
In addition, DirectTV has several add-on packages, including:
- HBO Pack with 13 channels for 34,900 pesos per month.
- Start Premium with 14 channels for 34,900 pesos per month.
- TV Globo from Brazil with 1 channel for 30,500 pesos per month
- Zee TV from India with 1 channel for 29,900 pesos per month.
- NHK from Japan with 1 channel for 32,900 pesos per month.
- NBA League Pass with 2 channels for 210,000 pesos per month.
- MLB Extra Innings with 2 channels for 62,500 pesos per month.
- NFL Sunday Ticket with 3 channels for 199,000 pesos per month.
One drawback with DirectTV is the need to install a satellite dish, which may not be possible in some locations.
5. Avantel Home Internet
Avantel is a mobile operator in Colombia that offers home Internet via its 4G wireless network. This service installs a Wi-Fi router in a home, which has a SIM and connects to Avantel’s 4G network. In addition, the router must be located near a window for a better connection to the 4G network. If you live in an area without 4G services this isn’t an option.
Avantel offers three different speeds with its home Internet service:
- 5 Mbps – 69,000 pesos per month
- 7 Mbps – 75,000 pesos per month
- 10 Mbps – 90,000 pesos per month
The Aventel Internet services for the home is relatively expensive for slow speeds. But it provides an option for places that are not cabled with Claro, Tigo or Movistar service.
6. Conekto Internet Options in Antioquia
Conekto is a company that offers Internet services in rural and suburban areas on Antioquia. With Conekto you can get Internet at speeds of up to 10 Mbps. But their services are currently limited to the following areas:
- North of Medellín: Copacabana, Girardota, Barbosa and El Hatillo.
- East of Medellín: Guarne, Santa Elena, Marinilla, Rionegro and La Ceja.
- Southwest Antioquia: Caldas, Amagá, Titiribí, Tarso, Peñalisa, Puente Iglesias, Palermo, Thames, La Pintada, Damascus, Santa Barbara, Fredonia, Venice, Bolombolo and some other nearby towns.
Conekto uses microwave radio technology for its Internet services. And the installation includes an antenna and Wi-Fi router. Also, Conekto has no installation charge for homes but charges for installation for fincas and businesses. In addition, Conekto’s Internet service is month-to-month postpaid (pospago) but with no contract.
Conekto’s Internet is available in four speeds with the following monthly charges:
- 2 Mbps – 75,000 pesos for homes, 105,000 pesos for fincas and 157,500 pesos for businesses.
- 4 Mbps – 95,000 pesos for homes, 130,000 pesos for fincas and 195,000 pesos for businesses.
- 6 Mbps – 115,000 pesos for homes, 155,000 pesos for fincas and 285,000 pesos for businesses.
- 10 Mbps – 160,000 pesos for homes, 190,000 pesos for fincas and 380,000 pesos for businesses.
However, the microwave radio technology used by Conekto can be adversely affected by weather conditions and terrain. And the density and height of nearby trees can also affect reception.
HughesNet satellite Internet dish, photo by Tony Webster
7. HughesNet Internet Options in Colombia
HughesNet offers satellite Internet in Colombia. Since HughesNet uses satellites it is available in both urban and remote areas of Colombia.
HughesNet options in Colombia include:
- 20 Mbps download with 2 Mbps upload – 181,400 pesos ($55) per month in Estrato 4, 5 or 6
- 30 Mbps download with 3 Mbps upload – 234,900 pesos ($70) per month in Estrato 4, 5 or 6
- 40 Mbps download with 4 Mbps upload – 288,500 pesos ($85) per month in Estrato 4, 5 or 6
Note that these HughesNet plans have monthly data limits, which are 10 GB for 20 Mbps, 20 GB for 30 Mbps and 30 GB from 40 Mbps. If you exceed the data limit in a month, your Internet speed is reduced by 1 to 2 Mbps. Also, you get a bonus of 50 GB of data each month to be used between 2 am and 8 am.
A major benefit of HughesNet is that it works in remote areas of Colombia where Claro, Tigo-UNE and Movistar don’t offer service.
However, one downside of Internet via satellite is that it suffers from latency since it takes extra time for data to get from your computer to the satellite and to the destination and back. So, certain types of activities (like serious gaming) are off the table with a satellite connection.
Also, another downside of Internet via satellite is that heavy thunderstorms may result in intermittent connectivity or a temporary loss of connection. And similar to DirectTV, HughesNet requires the installation of a satellite dish, which may not be possible in some locations.
How to Sign Up for Internet and Cable TV Services in Medellín
Tigo-UNE is available in most apartments and casas (houses) in the Medellín metro area. And Claro and Movistar are not available in every building. If you want to use Claro, make sure it is available in your apartment or home.
Claro, Tigo-UNE and Movistar have stores in most of the malls in Medellín where you can sign up for services. DirecTV also has booths or stands in some malls.
All the providers frequently run promotions to sign up new customers. The discounted promotion rates are typically for a year and then increase to the regular rate. And when you move you can sign up with a new discounted rate as if you are a new customer.
When you sign up for triple-play services or just Internet services, the provider will schedule an installation time. And when they come out for the installation they will run cables where needed. But there may be a separate installation charge.
To sign up for Internet and cable TV services in Colombia with most providers require a cedula. I asked Claro, Tigo-UNE and Movistar and none of them will accept a passport to sign up for service. In addition, you also need some credit established in Colombia with your cedula. We covered how to establish credit in Colombia in a separate article.
Also, the three main providers (Claro, Tigo-UNE and Movistar) will not accept a deposit for establishing service. However, you can get DirecTV service without a cedula.
When I first started living in Medellín over eight years ago, I didn’t have a visa or cedula. So, to establish Internet and cable TV services with UNE, I had to get a Colombia friend do this in his name.
Watching TV on the Internet in Colombia
Some expats I know in Colombia just get Internet services and watch TV on the Internet. These expats use streaming TV options like Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Netflix or Sling TV, which require a high-speed Internet connection.
However, some of these streaming options may require setting up a VPN to give you an IP address in the U.S. to fool sites that are blocked or censored if you have an IP address in Colombia.
Internet and Triple-Play in Other Cities in Colombia
Claro, Tigo-UNE and Movistar all offer Internet and triple-play services in many cities in Colombia.
However, some other cities have other providers. For example, Cali has EMCALI, which offers Internet speeds of up to 100 Mbps. And Bogotá has ETB, which offers Internet speeds of up to 150 Mbps. Also, Bucaramanga has Telebucaramanga with reportedly Internet speeds of up to 20 Mbps.
The Bottom Line: Internet and Cable TV Providers in Medellín
With competition between the top Internet and Cable TV providers in Colombia, Claro, Tigo-UNE and Movistar sometimes have promotions for triple-play services.
Prices in Colombia for Internet and cable TV and triple-play services are much lower than in the U.S. For example, I am playing less in Colombia for triple-play services (Internet + TV + phone) than what I was paying just for Internet services in the U.S.
Most important for me is reliable high-speed Internet. And I have found that Claro is very reliable. Also, we also use our fijo fixed-line telephone frequently to call for taxis and for home delivery (domicilio).
In addition, we previously provided a comprehensive guide to buying and using cell phones in Colombia. And we looked at the 22 best mobile apps to use in Medellín and how to make international calls.
Sign up for the Free Medellin Guru Newsletter – You can see all of the previous Medellin Guru weekly email newsletters and sign up here.
Editors note: completely updated this article originally published in January 2019 on May 24, 2019 with current prices in 2019 and added my recent experience signing up for Claro triple-play service plus added Conekto, which offers Internet services in rural areas of Antioquia.
Editors note: updated on May 31, 2019 with information that the Claro store in Mayorca mall no longer offers services, only sales.
Editors note: updated on September 9, 2019 to add Avantel’s home Internet option.
Editors note: on April 10, 2020, completely updated this article for 2020 including current prices from providers.
Editors note: on February 22, 2021, updated this article for 2021 including current prices from providers.
34 thoughts on “Guide to Internet and Cable TV Providers in Medellín – 2021 Update”
I’m looking for the best satellite internet+TV service for the area of el Elretiro Antioquia. Based on your expertise which company offers the most reliable service?
As it says in our article, there is only one offering Satellite Internet and that is HughesNet listed in our article but HughesNet doesn’t have TV services.
DirecTV offers satellite TV services and in some parts of Colombia offers satellite TV services along with Internet services. DirecTV uses third party Internet service providers to offer its Internet services in Colombia.
Hi,
We will be moving to Medellin in September 2021. We already own an apartment and according to the neighbors Tigo-UNE is the provider. I visited the Tigo-UNE site but I cannot find two pieces of information.
1) Is the bandwidth offered symmetric or asymmetric? My sense is it is asymmetric but I am hoping to determine the upload bandwidth associated with Tigo-UNE’s various plans. On the Tigo-UNE site they list 30, 60, 120 & 300 Mbps with no mention about outbound bandwidth. Depending on availability to our location I am thinking 120 Mbps but the 300 Mbps plan would become more desirable if it offered substantially higher outbound bandwidth.
2) Is it possible to order a data circuit with a static IP address? I am aware this would raise the price but I am trying to find out if it is even possible.
Thanks,
Sean
Sorry don’t know the answers to your question. You would have to ask Tigo.
Jeff,
Thanks for the reply. I managed to drill into the Tigo-UNE site and find information you may or may not want to use.
Current Tigo-UNE Home Use Plans:
3 Mbps/1 Kbps REDCO
5 Mbps/1 Kbps REDCO
10 Mbps/1 Mega REDCO
30 Mbps/5 Mbps HFC – GPON
60 Mbps/6 Mbps HFC
60 Mbps/10 Mbps GPON
120 Mbps/12 Mbps HFC
120 Mbps/20 Mbps GPON
300 Mbps/30 Mbps HFC – GPON
REDCO is not an acronym I could parse but appears to be ADSL on a copper pair. This would terminate in a DSL modem providing wired/wireless ethernet based connectivity in the home.
HFC – Hybrid Fiber Coax – This would likely provision as a coax feed into the residence then connect to a DOCSIS modem providing wired/wireless ethernet based connectivity in the home. This is commonly known as cable Internet in the US market.
GPON – Gigabyte Passive Optical Network – This would likely provision as FTTP (Fiber To The Premises). Then the fiber feed terminates in an ONU (Optical Network Unit) which would hand off to wired/wireless ethernet based connectivity in the home.
Static IP addresses are available for business class data circuits. Whether they will provision a business class circuit to a residence remains to be seen.
Sean
Hi Jeff, I am moving to Colombia from Dec 26-Mar and I am hoping to ride my bike and get a lot out of the experience. So I wanted to be able to move to the country, right outside of Medellin to Le Fe (near the lake). I am worried about high speed internet – both upload and download speeds plus reliability. Have you heard anything about issues in the region. I would be staying therein an air-b-nb and it is a gated community where my host says “wealthy” Colombians live. Which I am not sure has any indication on service. Thank you so much for your help. Cheers, Rebecca
I have been in an Airbnb in LA FRONTERA for the last 3 months which has Claro and the picture quality and service is terrible. i have had a service repair man come 3 times to fix a pixelated signal problem with my picture that occurs every 10 seconds or so and it was never solved. Just spent a weekend in Envigado with my girl friend who has TIGO/UNE and the picture quality was insanely good. I lived in Envigado 2 years ago and i had UNE and it was great then also. I AM NOW STUCK for the next 6 weeks with relatively no TV
It’s interesting that in the article you say you had problems with Tigo. I’ve had the opposite experience. At my previous apartment I had Claro and found it to be really unstable and often slow which is not ideal if you are working totally online. In my new apartment, on the recommendation of a Colombian friend, I went for Tigo and it’s been excellent.
In fairness to Claro, when I reported the problem to them they did send out two really helpful technicians. That said they could replace my router and it’s cabling to the box in the street but I would have to make another appointment for this. I moved apartments before I got the chance to make the appointment.
The best internet in Medellin is in Arkadia , the new shopping center . They seems to have in their coworking Space like 75 Mb an amazing speed to work there. The rest of the mall they have another free wifi with speeds up to 150 Mb , very cool ! I love this new mall! great food great wifi great stores
Thanks for all the great information. My wife and I will be snow birding in Medellin from Christmas to April 1st. Do any of these companies offer month to month service?
If you are here short-term you are probably renting a furnished apartment, which most will have Internet/TV services. If you rent unfurnished you need a cedula and credit history to sign up with most Internet/TV providers and they don’t offer month-to-month services.
Is there a download limit to the internet plans? As I am a heavy user and also require it for work.
The only one with a download limit I am aware of is HughesNet. HughesNet Internet plans have monthly data limits, which are 10 GB for 20 Mbps, 20 GB for 30 Mbps and 30 GB from 40 Mbps.
I am a heavy user and use the Internet for work and also maintaining the Medellin Guru website and I have never been charged for usage by Claro.
Thanks for the info!
Es bueno se los recomiendo.. (in English) It is good to recommend them ..
Pueden comprar aca https://colombiasatelital.com (in English) You can buy here https://colombiasatelital.com
What service provides fiber optic?
I intend to work remotely so low latency is important in order do video conferencing.
How is latency on these providers?
I ran a few latency tests on our UNE/Tigo service in Poblado pinging google.com and a couple other large sites. The native network showed very good results at 30-45 ms. Via a private VPN located at our US residence added about 100 ms with results showing 130-140 ms. I suspect the big guys have a more local presence and the 30-45 ms response doesn’t tell the whole story. This VPN we have is sufficient for streaming TV, not sure how video conferencing would work.
Would it be possible to have two internet providers at the same time?
I work at the same time, and I’ve lost internet at very crucial times in the past. I’d love to have two providers to avoid this situation.
I have some questions. Maybe a reader here knows the answers.
I am a renter and Internet access is included with my rent. Now I am pretty technical but using the router in the house, I only see the local, private IP address on the local network. Something like 198.168.1 XX. Essentially there is a wall between me and the Internet.
The Internet can go out and my router will happily feed me an IP address and that WiFi flag icon has 4 solid rainbows. But on the public IP side of the router, there is no internet signal. The router is set up this way so you can print or file share on your local, private network, even if the Internet signal from the provider drops out.
So, other than asking the landlord, how can I figure out which of the three companies you mention (Tigo, Claro, or Movistar) is providing the Internet service?
Do they all share the same physical connection from the street to the house main access point? Is it possible if I wanted to buy a faster service from a more reliable provider, could I get Claro in my room or on a wifi router that I have exclusive access to, without impacting the other residents on a slower server from a different provider and wifi router?
Secondly, how can I look up my Estrato? I never see the bills.
Third question. According to your article, a 20 Mbps download speed should have at 5 Mbps upload speed.
I’ve now lived in two places and the upload speed in both places sucks. In Kbps, not Mbps. (Kilobits per second versus Megabits per second). First place was Tigo. Don’t yet know the provider in the new place.
I am not running a server or a web site out of the house, but I do store things in the cloud like photos and documents. So if I edit a photo, when I am done it gets uploaded to iCloud. I have an off-site backup plan in addition to Time Machine locally. That is using my upload speeds too. I am still doing some research to see if my off-site backup software is throttling the upload speed.
But you can check your speed using http://www.speedof.me. A VPN does have a slight impact on your speeds. Like on the house Internet connection here with the VPN on, my 20 Mbps download drops to 17-18 Mbps.
You can find out your Internet Provider by going to https://www.whoismyisp.org/. Also https://www.speedtest.net/ is a better speedtest as it will show your provider.
The providers don’t share physical connections. If you live in a high-rise with a porteria you can ask the porteria which providers are available in the building and the estrato. Not all providers are available everywhere. Also, you can ask one of your neighbors about the providers available and the estrato.
The download/upload speeds depend on the provider. To change Internet provider you will need a contract and a cedula and it will require installation of cables in the home.
It is a little more tricky than just getting a VPN. There are companies that compile and sell the IP addresses of known VPN servers. And streaming companies like Hulu or Amazon Prime will routinely block these addresses and that makes your VPN useless for streaming.
You will be able to log in and browse but the minute you try to stream, you’ll get an error.
Also, you want to make sure your VPN provider offers excellent support including chat. Getting an e-mail tomorrow because you are having problems watching something tonight isn’t much help.
Without getting too technical you want to make sure your VPN blocks WebRTC and switches you to their DNS servers, not your local ISP. These things are just other methods streamers use to uncover your location.
Lastly, you need to find a way to spoof your geolocation in your browser. I am on a Mac and use an add-on called Location Guard which works with Firefox and Chrome. If you’re on Windoze, I cannot tell you what works on Microsoft IE or Edge. But I believe Location Guard will work on Windoze versions of Firefox and Chrome as it is an add-on. And it is a free download.
The streaming companies have multiple ways to uncover your true location and it is a constant battle between the streaming companies and the VPNs.
My view is if I am an American and I pay my monthly subscription from an American Bank and I have an American address some damn Hollywood lawyer should not force me to use their Spanish Language streaming services with mostly Spanish movies and an emphasis on footbol. My streaming subscription should be linked to my nationality and not my geography.
You can always test everything after you set it up to see if any data on your actual physical location is leaking. I recommend http://www.mylocation.org.
As to the choice of VPN, you want a service that never ever logs your activity and then sells it to third parties. There should be no record whatsoever of your use of a VPN server.
Personally, I have been very happy in all regards with ExpressVPN. I have tried others but none of them come close to ExpressVPN.
Having a Cedula is not enough to get Triple-Play(or a PostPago Cell Phone Account) with TigóUne or Claro (I don’t know about Movistar but I imagine that it is the same). In addition to have a Cedula you need to have your credit established which takes about 6 months from what I can gather. In the mean time the trick is to get the service under the name of someone who has a Cedula and has his/her credit established, in all likelihood a Colombian, exactly as you describe in your review.
Thanks. Yes, you need some credit established in Colombia. I added that to the article and we’ll cover establishing credit in a separate article.
Thank you Jeff, I really enjoy reading every article you write and often read them multiple times. I like your no nonsense approach and clear writing style, hope to meet you in person sometime. I’m especially looking forward to your future article about establishing credit in Colombia.
Here in Medellin I’m an all cash type. All I had was my Cedula and Tigo Une set me up, no established credit. Before I went to them I stopped in at Claro but they wouldn’t give me internet service unless I signed up for their TV package too, which I didn’t want. Tigo Une was willing to provide me internet service without the hundreds of wonderful TV channels. My laptop does sporadically lose the signal but if I reboot the modem it re-establishes the connection. Yesterday Tigo called me to ask if I’d like a brand new modem. In my three years in this building the internet has been completely out but rarely and never for very long.
Hi Geoffrey, it is definitely possible to sign up just for Internet at Claro – you should have shown them this page – https://www.claro.com.co/personas/servicios/servicios-hogar/internet/
Also, I know many expats with just Internet service from Claro. I just looked and to sign up for just 20 Mbps Internet service with Claro in Medellín costs 84,900 pesos per month in estrato 4.
Interesting. That’s good to know. The fact that Claro will sell internet only might give me the flexibility to switch at some point, providing I decide to establish local credit. Your forthcoming article on it will undoubtedly be informative. I wonder if I spoke to someone inexperienced at Claro or whether they changed their requirements in the intervening three years. I have to pay 113k for the 20 Mbps but my building is designated estrato 5 so I can’t tell if the difference in price is completely due to that.
I just looked and with Claro for 20 Mbps Internet in estrato 5 is 96,900 pesos per month – that is with 20 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up.
Great article and I appreciate the update! Where can I get more information on streaming television services? I have Roku in the US with a Hulu subscription which I know doesn’t function on MDE. I’m curious about other options! Thanks!
If you get a VPN as it says in the article, you can get an IP address in the U.S. to fool sites that are blocked or censored if you have an IP address in Colombia.
It is a little more tricky than just getting a VPN. There are companies that compile and sell the IP addresses of known VPN servers. And companies like Hulu or Amazon Prime will routinely block these and that makes you VPN useless for streaming.
You will be able to log in and browse but the minute you try to stream, you’ll get an error.
Also, you want to make sure your VPN provider provides excellent support including chat. Getting an e-mail tomorrow because you are having problems watching something tonight isn’t much help.
Without getting too technical you want to make sure your VPN blocks WebRTC and switches you to their DNS servers, not your local ISP.
Lastly, you need to find a qay to spoof yopur geolocation in your browser. I am on a Mac and use an add-on called Location Guard which works with Firefox and Chrome. If you’re on Windoze, I cannot tell you what works on Microsoft IR or Edge. But I believe Location Guard will work on Windoze versions of Firefox and Chrome as it is an aff-on. And it is a free downloadf.
The streaming companies have multiple ways to uncover your true location and it is a constant battle between the streaming companies and the VPNs.
My view is if I am an American and I pay my monthly subscription from an American Bank and I have an American address some damn Hollywood lawyer should not force me to use their Spanish Language streaming services with mostly Spanish movies and an emphasis on fotbol. My streaming subscription should be linked to my nationality and not my geography.
You can always test everything after you set it up to see if any data on your actual physical location is leaking. I recommend http://www.mylocation.org.
As to choice of VPN, you want a service that never ever logs your activity and then sells it to third parties. There should be no record whatsoever of your use of a VPN server.
Personally, I have been very happy in all regards with ExpressVPN. I have tried others but none of them come close to ExpressVPN.
Thanks for the helpful guide. We have Claro triple-play and our neighbor has Tigo-UNE and our neighbor is always complaining about outages but we have only experienced one short outage in the past year. LOL and our neighbor now plans to switch to Claro.
Nice guide. We first installed Tigo-UNE service in our apartment based on a recommendation from a Colombian friend who helped us. But we experienced outages almost monthly and their customer service was horrible. So we switched to Claro that is so much more reliable.