In recent months we have seen the financial problems that have been affecting WOM Chile and also in Colombia. In fact, in our country the purple operator declared bankruptcy under Chapter 11 in the United States and doing something similar in Colombia in accordance with local law.
This allows the company continue operating while you restructure your finances and meet your obligations to creditors.
opensignal carried out a complete analysis of what would happen in the event that the operator abandons its operations in both countries and migrates clients to local operators. Would it be a good decision? Would it congest other mobile networks? Let’s see what the report says:
WOM leaves Chile and Colombia and a client migration is carried out
In Chile, WOM has a 22% share of the mobile market, with 5.7 million subscribers. The company attributes its financial situation to delays in the deployment of the 5G network and fines imposed by Subtel. However, mobile networks in our country are more robust and less congested, making them better able to absorb a potential migration of WOM subscribers, according to Opensignal. Since April 2024, WOM has lost 57,000 customers.
In contrast, in Colombia, WOM controls 7.8% of the mobile market, with 6.5 million subscribers. The Colombian market faces significant challenges due to high competition and a decrease in average revenue per user (ARPU). 4G networks in Colombia present serious congestion problems, and the recent introduction of 5G has not yet completely solved this situation. This means that Colombian infrastructure is less prepared to handle an influx of subscribers coming from WOM.
Conclusion, according to Opensignal
Key findings indicate that Mobile networks in Chile have fewer congested sites and more available capacity compared to Colombia. In addition, the 5G network in Chile is better developed and less loaded, allowing better absorption of subscribers who could migrate from WOM. In Colombia, the migration of WOM subscribers could overload the networks of operators such as Claro, Tigo and Movistar. The acquisition and reuse of WOM sites by other operators could help mitigate the impact, but infrastructure investment will be needed in both countries to maintain a good user experience.
The report uses a methodology that classifies cells into different categories based on their level of congestion, which significantly affects download speed and user experience.
Finally, Opensignal mentions that it will continue to monitor and report on the experience of mobile networks in Chile and Colombia to closely follow developments related to the WOM bankruptcy.
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