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Colombia’s Antitrust Debate Shapes WOM Investment Plans

By  |  September 30, 2025

Sur Holdings has announced that a planned US$100 million investment in WOM Colombia will depend on the government introducing measures that enable fairer competition in the local telecommunications market. The firm, which stepped in to rescue WOM from bankruptcy earlier this year, has already contributed US$40 million, according to Bnamericas.

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    The company expressed concerns that Colombia’s telecom sector remains highly concentrated, a factor it says could hinder WOM’s ability to grow. “Despite our growing confidence in WOM, there remains significant uncertainty about the future of market regulation, which is crucial to preventing duopolies and ensuring a balanced and open telecommunications environment. Despite our notable progress, WOM simply will not survive in a highly concentrated market without robust conditions in place,” said Stan Chudnovsky, partner at Sur Holdings, in a press release.

    The concerns arise as regulators review the proposed acquisition of Movistar Colombia by rival operator Tigo (Millicom). Per Bnamericas, the merger would reduce the market to three dominant players, a scenario that WOM argues could undermine its competitiveness. To counterbalance this, the company has requested that, if the deal goes through, remedial measures be adopted. These include mandatory free access to 25% of the integrated operator’s projected network capacity for at least seven years, which WOM says would help it achieve economies of scale. Similar conditions have been applied in both Europe and the United States in past concentration cases.

    Additional requests from WOM involve strict timelines for access to advanced network technologies. The company has asked that the merged entity be obliged to provide 4G radio access within one month and 5G access within two months across all municipalities where it already operates. WOM currently serves around six million customers in Colombia, according to Bnamericas.

    Despite the regulatory uncertainty, WOM has recently reported improved financial results. The company posted its first-ever positive EBITDA in the first quarter of 2025, reaching 60 billion pesos (US$15.3 million), alongside a cash flow of 52 billion pesos. This marks a significant turnaround from the 82 billion peso loss recorded during the same period in 2024. The second quarter also showed progress, with EBITDA at 36 billion pesos compared to a 39 billion peso loss a year earlier, and cash flow climbing 263% from the previous quarter to 41 billion pesos.

    Source: Bnamericas