Communication
It is possible to use your cell phone to call in Colombia. The cell has to have support for the 850 Mhz or 1900 MHz band. But most of the cell phones in the United States have that. The cost of making and receiving calls in Colombia with a US SIM card are not insignificant to mention. GPRS data services are most of the time only available in the larger cities of Colombia. Voice and text services are also in the smaller cities. The coverage is largely in the west of Colombia from north to south west.
Below is a table with some information what the cost would be at the time of writing this piece. All prices are for a subscription. Prices from 07-11-2009. Prepaid cell phone you better leave at home.
| Sprint |
$ 2.29 / $ 1.99* |
$ 2.29 / $ 1.99* |
No information |
$ 0.016 / KB |
| T-Mobile |
$ 2.99 |
$ 2.99 |
$ 0.35 / $0.20 |
$ 15 / MB |
| AT&T Mobility |
$ 2.29 / $ 1.99* |
$ 2.29 / $ 1.99* |
$ 0.50 / Normal rate |
$ 0.0195 / KB |
| Cincinnati Bell |
$ 2.89 |
$ 2.89 |
No information |
$ 0.0195 / KB or
$19.99 / MB |
* Only with a special subscription for international calls.
Besides mobile telephony there are call shops in Colombia where you can call to the United States can call them for only a few dollars. There are also plenty of internet cafes for you to find so that you can e-mail your friends and family. These costs are currently around $ 0.50 a hour.
Local people and telephony
According to the figures of Dane in 2008 83.8% of Colombian families has a cell phone. Compared to 2003 when this percentage was only 17.7% can you see what the hype the cell phone has been in recent years. The figures against the income of the people gives a better picture.
Percentage of cell phones by income in 2008
| 0 tot 1,5 times the minimum wage |
22,8 |
77,2 |
| 1,5 tot 5 times the minimum wage |
6,9 |
93,1 |
| 5 and higher times the minimum wage |
1,7 |
98,3 |
It appears from the figures that no matter how much you earn everyone can buy a mobile phone. Keep in mind that a fixed telephone line costs are fixed and with a prepaid mobile you only pay what you consume. This also ensures that a lot of people no longer have a fixed line, but a cell phone because you only "expensive" thing is the purchase of it. The percentage of fixed lines dropped in 2008 from 54.7% to 44.3% in 2003. This also confirms the picture described above.
Percentage of fixed telephone lines to income in 2008
| Income |
% No |
% Yes |
| 0 tot 1,5 times the minimum wage |
66,3 |
33,7 |
| 1,5 tot 5 times the minimum wage |
46,4 |
53,4 |
| 5 and higher times the minimum wage |
16,6 |
83,4 |
In 2003, 14.9% of the Colombians had a fixed telephone and cell phone. In 2008 this figure had already risen to 40.1%.
Television, Computers and Internet
Although Colombia often is described as a 3rd world country the following figures open a lot of eyes. The figures provide a picture of modern communication means.
Percentage of households with access to ICT-related goods or services
| Color TV |
76,7 |
88,5 |
86,5 |
93,1 |
45,0 |
72,2 |
| DVD player |
2,2 |
47,1 |
2,8 |
54,1 |
0,2 |
22,2 |
| Computer |
11,2 |
22,8 |
14,4 |
28,5 |
0,9 |
2,5 |
| TV with cable or satellite |
35,5 |
48,3 |
45,2 |
59,1 |
4,4 |
9,9 |
| Internet access* |
5,5 |
12,8 |
7,1 |
16,4 |
0,3 |
0,4 |
* Internet access is also the internet cafe in the street.