Mexican-backed cellco Claro Colombia has launched 4G services in the capital, Bogota, becoming the fourth operator to offer Long Term Evolution (LTE) in the country, El Tiempo writes. The cellco will provide 4G services at the same price as its 3G tariffs, and has 20 LTE-compatible handsets on offer. Existing subscribers with one of the compatible handsets may request a new free SIM to begin using 4G with no change in pricing for their plan. Claro will also enable 3G/4G customers to access its Claro Video video-on-demand (VoD) platform, which currently boasts more than 12,000 titles. Although currently only available in Bogota, Claro’s VP of technology Hugo Salazar was quoted as saying that the operator will have extended coverage to 50% of the population within 90 days.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Une-EPM launched the nation’s first 4G network in June 2012, whilst Tigo and Movistar followed suit in December 2013. Avantel, meanwhile, is expected to activate its LTE platform in Q2 2014.