Colombia. The 2024 ICT and Postal Sector Industry Report is an annual publication of the CRC that comprehensively compiles and analyzes information on telecommunications and postal services in Colombia.
The report incorporates inputs from entities such as DANE, the General Accounting Office of the Nation and the Superintendence of Companies. This continuous effort offers value groups a reliable and up-to-date x-ray of the dynamics, trends and evolution of the sectors, becoming a strategic input for public policy and business decision-making.
According to the analysis, the sectors regulated by the CRC reflect a landscape of transformation: internet services and the transition to new technologies consolidate their role as the engine of the telecommunications sector, while express messaging drives growth in the postal sector.
Taken together, the results reflect an ecosystem that is constantly evolving, with opportunities and challenges for operators, users and public policymakers. Among the most relevant findings are:
Telecommunications Sector
- Revenues from free-to-air television and radio continued to decline, with real declines of 0.7% and 9.2% respectively.
- Subscription TV service revenue decreased by 6.2% in real terms. The number of subscribers was 6.06 million.
- Operating revenues in the telecommunications sector amounted to 30.3 trillion pesos in 2024, with a growth of 1.33% in real terms, mainly driven by fixed internet, mobile and carrier internet services, which together grew by more than 6.2% and accounted for 65% of the sector's total revenues (19.7 trillion).
- Fiber optics reached a 47.9% share of fixed internet access, totaling 4.4 million connections in 2024. This technological transition explains the increase in 2024 of 69.5% in average download speed (382 Mbps) and 92.9% in upload speed (234 Mbps).
- Total mobile internet traffic grew by 18.3% in 2024, reaching 6.3 million TB. Mobile accesses increased by 4.4%, reaching 49.4 million, and service revenues amounted to 10.47 trillion pesos, with a real growth of 5.1%.
- Traffic per access was 11.22 GB on average for December 2024, representing a growth of 2.7%, a significantly lower variation compared to the 17.9% observed in the same month of the previous year.
- In 2024, for every 100 people, 94 accessed mobile internet service. For every 100 households, 46 had fixed internet, which shows that a connectivity gap persists.
- 5G technology began its operation in 2024, with the deployment of 1,433 base stations in 43 municipalities, achieving coverage of 19% of the area in municipal capitals and population centers. However, 4G remains the predominant technology, with a presence in 97% of these areas.
- In its first year, 5G reached a 7.7% share of the country's mobile accesses, which is equivalent to 3.8 million connections, reflecting a significant adoption of this technology, which adds to the coexistence of 4G, 3G and 2G networks. In comparison, 84% of mobile accesses are concentrated in 4G, which shows a gradual transition towards advanced connectivity environments and greater capacity.
- The carrier service, which is included for the first time in the report, presented a real growth of 8.2% in revenues, confirming its strategic role in network expansion.
- Fixed telephony reduced its revenues by 11.8% and its lines by 7.6%, accentuating the trend observed in previous years. Despite this, 80.9% of the lines still belong to the residential segment.
Sector Postal
- Postal services recorded a real growth of 4.02% in revenues, leveraged on express couriers. Express courier accounted for 87.4% of total revenues, and mail and money order services accounted for the remaining 12.6%.
- Express courier service led the growth of the postal sector, with an 11.8% real increase in revenue in 2024. 287.7 million shipments of this service were made, of which 65.8% were individual shipments and the remaining 38.2% were massive. Additionally, revenue from individual shipments grew 15.9%, and had a share of 80.8% in total revenues in the express courier service.
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