Tigo's digital visitor line and ordinary prepaid bundles
Tigo's visitor-facing eSIM page sells a Colombian prepaid line through an online checkout. At the time of checking it advertised a 30-day, COP 100,000 package described as unlimited data with unlimited calls within Colombia. That is the operator's package description, so check the fair-use terms and the final checkout before paying. Tigo asks buyers to confirm that the phone is unlocked and supports its eSIM. It suggests dialling *#06# to see whether an EID appears. Confirm model compatibility before buying.
Tigo's ordinary prepaid page separately advertised a 20-day bundle with 10 GB, doubled to 20 GB for a qualifying new line bought through its digital channel, at COP 20,000 when checked. This promotion has conditions. Its page says packages can be bought via its website, Mi Tigo app, *111# or Tigo points of sale, and warns that use depends on signal where you are.
Give the line your details and keep the activation record
Claro's prepaid activation page describes a process it calls autolegalización: the customer supplies identity-document type and number and updates the details attached to the line through its official WhatsApp channel. A visitor should carry the passport used for the purchase and ask the seller which document types the particular activation route accepts. Claro's separate Mi Claro sign-in guide lists a passport as a login-document option, but that does not by itself prove every remote SIM sale accepts one. Ask at a staffed shop.
Tigo links its prepaid page to a line activation or registration route and lists Mi Tigo and physical points for later recharges. Claro says Mi Claro can be used to pay and recharge. Test the new line, receive a verification SMS and save the line number before departing the counter. If an online eSIM was purchased, retain the original order email and access to the mailbox: Tigo warns that a deleted visitor eSIM cannot simply be installed again. Do not erase a working profile while changing phones or troubleshooting reception.
A Colombian line brings the phone's IMEI into the process
The CRC's rule effective from October 2025 says a user who acquired a handset abroad and brought it into Colombia as a traveller registers its IMEI with the telecommunications provider serving the line. The provider must offer the registration through its customer-service routes, including online, in person and by telephone. This is about the device identity as well as the SIM: changing a package does not register the phone. Ask the chosen Colombian operator to complete the registration when activating a line, especially if the phone has never been used on its network.
The procedure described by the CRC starts with the SIM in the handset and the line number. The operator identifies the customer, may send a code by SMS, detects the IMEI on its network and asks the customer to confirm it. The operator then confirms successful registration. Claro also provides a dedicated IMEI registration page. Dial *#06# to note the IMEI before visiting a shop, and keep the confirmation if it is issued. The CRC rule does not state that purchasing an eSIM alone completes this device step, so check the two separately.
Compare the CRC maps for Bogotá and the next department
The CRC launched DaTIC mobile coverage maps with filters for operator, 2G through 5G technology, department and municipality. Its December 2025 explanation says the mapped operator reports then ran to the fourth quarter of 2024. Use them as a planning tool rather than a live signal forecast. Choose both your arrival neighbourhood and the municipality beyond it, then compare the intended operator and technology. A broad national label tells little about a mountain pass, indoor address or road beyond a town centre.
The same CRC release says 4G coverage is strongest in its central and western regional groups and lowest in the southern group. It describes 5G at the end of 2024 as concentrated mainly in urban parts of 43 cities; do not read its national percentage as a guarantee along a rural route. MinTIC reported that 83% of mobile internet accesses in the first quarter of 2025 were on 4G and 9.6% on 5G. Those are shares of accesses, not shares of Colombia's land with signal. Download a map and transport booking before a long journey into a weaker-coverage area.
Use El Dorado's free connection deliberately
Bogotá's El Dorado airport says its free network is named Aeropuerto_El_Dorado. The access portal asks users to enter details, and the airport says they may reconnect without charge if the session drops. Save eSIM details offline before departure. Check the airport's own map for any shop or counter you plan to use rather than assuming a particular mobile operator has an arrivals desk.
A phone bought with a Colombian prepaid line still needs its account and IMEI steps completed. If activation fails after the flight, keep the airport Wi-Fi session open while contacting the operator, and avoid deleting an installed Tigo visitor profile as a first troubleshooting move. Record the hotel address in Spanish and take a screenshot of the route so the first taxi or bus trip does not depend on a mobile connection already working.
TransMiApp needs data after the airport
Bogotá's city portal says the renewed TransMiApp plans journeys across TransMilenio trunk and zonal services, shows nearby stops and live bus locations, and offers route choices by time, cost, transfers or walking. The portal explicitly says the app requires an internet connection. Install or update it while connected, then save the first route before leaving Wi-Fi. Its digital tullave recharge route uses PSE and some balance checks need NFC; neither feature means a visitor's foreign bank card will necessarily complete payment. Ask at a station about a physical card if digital payment is uncertain.
The app includes a 123 emergency button and alerts about service changes. Those features make data useful in Bogotá, but an app notification is no substitute for a working voice line. If travelling onward to Medellín, the Caribbean coast or the south, the Bogotá app is no general Colombian transport pass; check each local system and the CRC coverage view before the next leg.
Keep 123 reachable and control home-line roaming
Colombia's National Police identifies 123 as the single, free national emergency number, available around the clock for security and other urgent assistance. Save 123 and your current address. Tigo's visitor package includes Colombian voice calls according to its page; a data-only eSIM may not include a normal voice service. Product terms and the handset determine what emergency calls it can make, so keep a verified voice-capable route and do not infer one from an internet connection alone.
Apple says a supported iPhone can keep a home number and travel eSIM active together, with one selected for mobile data. It also warns that home-line activity can incur roaming charges, even when the travel line carries data. Before flying, check the network lock, label the lines and confirm the home provider's Colombia roaming terms. Test the data line before leaving El Dorado. Our Colombia plan page gives another data option to compare with a registered local number.
Networks our Colombia plans use
These are the operators named on our plans for Colombia, taken from the plan data, so the list follows the catalogue.
- Claro4G
- Colombia Movil S.A. (Tigo)4G
- movistar5G
- Tigo5G
- TIGO4G