Millicom Tightens Grip as Tigo Replaces Movistar

Millicom has replaced Movistar with Tigo after taking over Colombia Telecomunicaciones, consolidating control of a company serving about 35 million users and leaving Colombia’s mobile market with two dominant players. The company’s announcement was blunt: “Movistar ahora es Tigo” (“Movistar is now Tigo”). Customers inherit the rebrand whether they asked for it or not.

Customers Face the Change

Tigo Colombia CEO Carlos Blanco said the company will honor existing contracts, charge prices in the same way, and let customers keep their SIM cards and phone numbers. No new plan or store visit is required. Bills will show the Tigo logo in October, while the network name on phone screens is scheduled to switch automatically from Movistar to Tigo in November. Service-point signs will change gradually.

The company said prices won’t rise automatically. Future changes remain possible, though consumer-information rules require advance notice. Customers get a promise about the present and a notice about the future: the merged company can still change prices.

Millicom assembled the takeover over more than a year. It bought EPM’s stake in January, part of Telefónica’s holdings in February, and the national government’s share of Colombia Telecomunicaciones in late April. Colombia’s competition authority approved the integration in November 2025, subject to conditions, because the deal affected 19 markets, including mobile services, home internet and television.

The conditions require fair rates for smaller operators renting network access, transparent bundled offers and four years of independent audits. They also bar targeted campaigns against small operators. The rules check some conduct, but they don’t alter the merger’s central effect: a market dominated by two large players.

Two Giants, One Market

The combined company reaches about 35 million users. Claro, Colombia’s market leader, serves 40.9 million lines. Claro answered the takeover with a public manifesto: “leadership is not declared, it is demonstrated.” It said Colombia needs the capacity to move, store, process and protect information so technology can translate into productivity and opportunity. Claro also said it would keep investing and improving services, but gave no figures.

Supporters of the merger told the competition authority that a larger company with more resources could compete directly with Claro and potentially improve networks and offers for customers. Whether that promise holds isn’t clear; reporting said the merger’s effect on competition would become clearer in the coming months. The rebrand prompted no described response from customers or communities.

Tigo plans to invest about US$2.6 billion over four years, on top of the US$1.4 billion Millicom has already spent acquiring shares in the two businesses. Those figures show the scale of corporate investment. Customers, meanwhile, must adjust to a new name and wait to see how competition and prices develop.

Changan’s Regional Expansion

Changan Automobile announced upgrades to its Vast Ocean Plan at Mondial de l’Auto 2026 in Paris, presenting a global lineup under the theme “Firmly Rooted, Growing Together.” The company said it was advancing globalization and moving toward global system-based operations. Its CHANGAN CS55 PLUS BlueCore HEV, which uses iDE-H architecture and requires no external charging, appeared at the show and is set to continue rolling out across Latin America.

The CHANGAN NEVO Q05, described as a leading-selling family electric SUV in China, made its European debut. It had launched in Colombia and Uruguay since August 2026 and was scheduled to enter Ecuador, Chile, Peru and other Latin American countries. Changan called the region a key strategic market and said it is moving from product exports toward local industrial establishment, drawing on a research and development system across five countries and nine centers.

Changan reported selling 2.913 million vehicles worldwide in 2025, up 8.5% year over year. The total included 1.109 million new-energy vehicles, up 51%, and 637,000 overseas vehicles, up 18.9%. Its upgraded plan calls for more than 40 new global models and overseas production capacity exceeding 800,000 units.

The company said its DEEPAL and AVATR brands are expanding in the region. DEEPAL S05 and S07 are set to expand across Latin America, while the AVATR CONCEPT T09 made its global premiere in Paris. Portuguese footballer Luís Figo was appointed Changan Product Experience Ambassador.

Changan said its withU customer-care brand covers after-sales service, maintenance, roadside assistance and service networks. In Latin America, it plans to improve spare-parts supply and roadside support, work with local partners, and develop new-energy and intelligent products. The corporate plan is expansive. How those services reach customers is what matters.