Before you start

An unlocked handset — a carrier-locked phone will reject a Colombian SIM
Your passport, which the law requires for registering any prepaid line
Your IMEI, from *#06#
A purchase receipt for a foreign-bought handset, in case the carrier asks during IMEI registration
A cédula de extranjería for a postpaid contract or a home-internet installation

Step-by-step

1
Arrive connected with an eSIM
If your phone takes an eSIM, install a Colombia plan from Airalo, Holafly or your own carrier before you fly. Cali's airport is about 20 km out at Palmira and negotiating a ride at the kerb with no data is a poor first hour. Plans start around US$5 for a few gigabytes and only start counting when you first connect, so you can install days ahead.
Mobile appWho: You5–10 minutes before departure; activates on arrivalUS$5–50 depending on data and days
2
Buy a prepago SIM in the city
Official Claro, Movistar, Tigo and WOM stores in Unicentro, Chipichape, Jardín Plaza or along the Avenida Sexta are straightforward and cheaper than airport counters. Show your passport, and the clerk registers the line in your name as the law requires. The SIM is free to about COP 6,000. Claro if you will travel around Colombia, WOM if you will mostly stay in Cali and want to spend less.
In personWho: You, at a carrier store15–30 minutesCOP 0–6,000 (under US$1.50) for the SIM
3
Register the handset's IMEI the same day
Colombia's anti-theft device database blocks unregistered foreign handsets after roughly twenty to thirty days, preceded by warning SMS in Spanish. Ask the clerk to register it while you are at the counter: they need your passport and the IMEI from *#06#, and may ask for the phone's receipt. Activation can take a couple of business days, so do it on day one rather than when the warnings start.
In personWho: Carrier store staff, or you in the carrier app5 minutes to submit; up to ~2 business days to take effectFree
4
Top up with recargas and pick a bundle
Prepaid runs on recargas bought in the carrier app, at corner shops and pharmacies displaying a recarga sign, or in supermarkets. A monthly bundle typically costs COP 16,000–45,000 for roughly 10–35 GB with unlimited calls and messages, and most bundle WhatsApp traffic free. Dial *611# on Claro to check your balance and find your own number.
Mobile appWho: You2–5 minutes, any timeCOP 16,000–45,000 (~US$4–11) a month
5
Price EMCALI against the national fibre operators
EMCALI is Cali's municipally owned utility and sells fibre internet alongside water and electricity, which makes it a genuinely local fourth option with competitive pricing in the neighbourhoods it has built out. Claro, Tigo and Movistar compete across the city and smaller building-level providers appear in newer towers. Expect COP 70,000–170,000 a month for 200–800 Mbps. Contracts need a cédula or a guarantor.
In personWho: You (cédula or local guarantor normally required)A few days to schedule installationCOP 70,000–170,000 (~US$17–42) a month
6
Ask about power cuts before you commit to working from a flat
Fibre is only as good as the building's power. Cali's grid is reliable in the southern belt but localised cuts and voltage dips do happen, and a fibre router without a small UPS drops your calls with it. If you work from home, ask the building administrator about outage frequency and whether there is a generator, and budget for an uninterruptible power supply.
In personWho: You, with the landlord or building administratorDuring the viewingA small UPS runs COP 200,000–400,000

Documents you’ll need

Passport, mandatory for registering any prepaid line
IMEI number from *#06#
Purchase receipt for a foreign-bought handset, for IMEI registration
Cédula de extranjería for a pospago contract or home fibre installation

Things most newcomers don’t know

Register your handset's IMEI the day you buy the SIM — an unregistered foreign phone stops working on Colombian networks after roughly twenty to thirty days.

Colombia maintains positive and negative IMEI databases specifically so stolen phones become unusable, and a device that never enters the positive list is treated as unverified. Buying the SIM feels like the complete job, the warning messages arrive in Spanish, and the block lands in the week you finally need the phone.

Source: MinTIC / CRC device registration rules

In Cali your internet provider can be the same public company that sells you water and electricity. EMCALI is worth pricing before you default to Claro.

EMCALI is municipally owned and runs water, sewerage, power and telecoms together — an arrangement almost no other Colombian city has. Where it has built fibre it competes hard on price, and consolidating services can simplify billing. Newcomers default to the nationally advertised brand and often pay more for less upstream bandwidth.

Source: EMCALI; Cali fixed-broadband market

Prepaid needs only a passport; postpaid needs a cédula, a credit history and usually a Colombian bank account.

That means your first months are prepago whether you like it or not, and the subsidised handset deals and best data plans sit behind pospago. Knowing this in advance saves a wasted store visit trying to negotiate a bundled phone before your cédula exists.

Source: Colombian carrier onboarding requirements (2026)

Get the number live on WhatsApp before you need it — flat viewings, doctors, plumbers and even government offices correspond there and nowhere else.

Colombian institutions treat WhatsApp as the default channel rather than email or voice calls, so a landlord's reply or an appointment confirmation arrives there or not at all. Landing with an active eSIM means you are reachable immediately instead of invisible for your first two days in a city where the good flats move in hours.

Source: Colombian consumer telecom practice

Common mistakes to avoid

Skipping IMEI registration and losing network access three or four weeks in.
Buying the SIM at the airport, where the same plan costs noticeably more than in a city store.
Bringing a carrier-locked handset that will not accept a Colombian SIM at all.
Signing a twelve-month fibre contract for a flat whose administración already includes building-wide internet.
Working from home over fibre with no UPS, so a brief power dip takes your call down with the router.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.