Medellin has become a magnet for digital nomads, with its spring-like climate, affordable cost of living, and neighbourhoods like El Poblado and Laureles packed with coworking spaces and cafés. But if you’re planning to stay for more than a couple of weeks, the WiFi question becomes urgent: do you rely on apartment internet, buy a local SIM, or find a solution that actually travels with you when you hop between cities or head to the coast?

We’ve supported hundreds of digital nomads working from Medellin, Bogotá, Cartagena, and the coffee region. Here’s what actually works for long term WiFi in Medellin — and what doesn’t.

Why Apartment WiFi in Medellin Isn’t Enough

Most Airbnbs and long-term rentals in Medellin advertise WiFi. The reality is inconsistent. In El Poblado, you might get 20-30 Mbps fiber. In Laureles or Envigado, it’s often shared ADSL that crawls during evening hours when neighbours are streaming.

The bigger issue: you’re locked to your apartment. Coffee shop WiFi in Medellin is hit-or-miss — Pergamino and Velvet have decent speeds, but most smaller cafés block VPNs or throttle video calls. If you’re working U.S. or European hours and need to take calls from a park or a coworking space, apartment-only internet leaves you stranded.

And if you travel — even just weekend trips to Guatapé or Jardin — apartment WiFi obviously stops at the door.

“So many countries we visited over the last 2 months, from Ireland to Turkey and back home again, and they were always there for us 24/7. Truly a pleasure — 150% satisfaction.”
— Sergey Kondratiev, verified ConnectPls customer

The Local SIM Card Route: Claro, Tigo, or Movistar

Colombia’s mobile networks are solid in cities. Claro has the widest coverage, Tigo is competitive in Medellin, and Movistar is fine if you’re staying urban. You’ll find SIM cards at Exito supermarkets, corner tiendas, or official stores in Unicentro.

But here’s the friction: you need a Colombian cédula or passport for registration. Top-ups are cash or local card only at most points of sale. Data packages expire monthly, so you’re manually renewing every 30 days. And if you cross into Ecuador, Peru, or Brazil — common for nomads doing visa runs or regional travel — you’re buying another SIM and starting over.

For someone staying three months in Medellin and nowhere else, a local SIM works. For someone bouncing between Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina, or planning a Panama visa run, it’s a headache.

Home Carrier Roaming: The Expensive Mistake

If you’re from the U.S., UK, or Europe, your home carrier probably offers roaming in Colombia. It’s also the fastest way to rack up a £200 bill for a month of normal use.

Most roaming plans cap you at 5-10 GB, then charge per MB. Others throttle you to near-useless speeds after a “fair use” limit. And they’re designed for two-week holidays, not three-month stays. We’ve seen nomads hit with $400 surprise bills after forgetting to disable cloud photo backups.

Roaming is fine for your first 48 hours while you sort out a proper solution. It’s not a long-term plan.

How ConnectPls Works for Long Term Stays in Medellin

ConnectPls is a UK-based connectivity subscription built for exactly this situation: people who live and work somewhere for months, not days, and need internet that works everywhere (not just one apartment).

You get a portable WiFi device (a mobile hotspot) shipped to your address before you fly. The device is included in your monthly plan — you don’t buy it upfront. It connects up to 10 devices at once, so your laptop, phone, tablet, and even a travel companion’s gear all run off one connection.

In Colombia, ConnectPls uses Cloud SIM technology to connect across multiple local operators automatically, plus a backup physical SIM slot. That means if Claro is weak in your Laureles apartment, the device switches to Tigo without you touching anything. If you’re working from a café in Ciudad del Rio and the local tower is congested, it finds a clearer path.

Colombia sits in ConnectPls Group 2 coverage, which gives you 500MB per day at 4G speeds, then throttles to 256kbps after that. That’s enough for email, messaging, light browsing, and video calls if you’re mindful. It won’t replace your apartment fiber for 4K Netflix binges, but it’s rock-solid as backup internet and mobile connectivity when you’re out.

The real advantage: this same device works across 160+ countries. If you take a weekend trip to Cartagena, a visa run to Panama, or a month in Mexico City, you don’t buy a new SIM or find a new provider. You land, turn on the device, and it works. No paperwork, no local bank account, no hunting for a tienda that sells recargas.

Monthly Billing Without the Commitment Trap

ConnectPls bills monthly, but it’s flexible. You activate the plan for the months you’re traveling and working abroad, and pause it when you’re not. There’s no annual contract. If you decide Medellin isn’t for you after six weeks, you cancel. The only catch: there’s a £25 fee if you cancel a mobile router subscription within the first three months, which covers the cost of shipping and returns.

For someone doing three months in Medellin, then three months in Buenos Aires, then back to Europe for the holidays, this model just makes sense. You’re not locked into a Colombian carrier for the full year, and you’re not juggling five different SIM cards.

Delivery is 4-5 working days to the UK, 2-3 days across most of Europe, and shipping is included for EU, UK, and U.S. addresses. Order before you leave, and the device arrives at your home address so you can test it, pack it, and know it works the moment you land.

What This Looks Like in Practice

We work with a lot of nomads doing the Colombia circuit. A typical setup: you rent a long-term Airbnb in El Poblado with decent-ish fiber. That’s your primary internet for heavy work — video editing, big uploads, evening streaming. The ConnectPls portable WiFi is your backup when the apartment internet drops (it will), your mobile connection when you’re working from Juan Valdez or Parque Lleras, and your travel internet for weekend trips to Salento or the coast.

You’re not choosing between apartment WiFi and portable WiFi. You’re using both, and the portable piece travels with you beyond Medellin.

How ConnectPls Compares to Other Options

Option	Setup Effort	Works Beyond Colombia?	Monthly Flexibility	Best For
Apartment WiFi Only	None	No	Locked to rental term	Someone who never leaves their flat
Local SIM (Claro/Tigo)	Medium (registration, top-ups)	No (expensive roaming)	Monthly manual renewal	Long stays in Colombia only
Home Carrier Roaming	Low	Yes (but costly)	Pay-per-use or capped	Short trips under 2 weeks
ConnectPls Portable WiFi	Low (ships to you)	Yes (160+ countries)	Cancel anytime after 3 months	Multi-country nomads, long stays with regional travel

When a Local SIM Actually Makes Sense

If you’re staying six months in Medellin, never leaving Colombia, and you’re comfortable with Spanish and local payment systems, a Claro SIM is cheaper for high-data use. You’ll pay around 50,000-80,000 COP per month for 20-30 GB, and you can tether to your laptop.

But the moment you add regional travel, language barriers, or the need to work reliably from different neighbourhoods and cities, the hassle outweighs the savings. ConnectPls is for people who value simplicity and multi-country coverage over squeezing out the absolute lowest per-GB cost.

The Support Question (It Matters More Than You Think)

When your internet drops and you have a client call in 20 minutes, you need someone who answers. ConnectPls has 24/7 support and a 5.0 Google rating from travellers who’ve actually used it in sticky situations — missed ferries in Greece, remote mountain towns in Spain, campervans in the Scottish Highlands.

Local Colombian carriers have support, but it’s in-person at a store or a Spanish-language call center. If you’re troubleshooting from a café in Laureles at 8 p.m., that’s not useful.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use ConnectPls portable WiFi as my only internet in Medellin?

You could, but we’d recommend pairing it with apartment WiFi if you’re doing data-heavy work. The 500MB daily allowance at 4G (then throttled) is great for mobile work, calls, and backup, but if you’re uploading 5GB of video files or streaming all day, apartment fiber is more practical. Most nomads use ConnectPls as reliable mobile and backup internet, not as a full apartment replacement.

Does the portable WiFi work in the mountains or coffee region outside Medellin?

Yes, because it connects across multiple operators. Coverage in Salento, Jardin, and Guatapé is decent on Claro and Tigo. The Cloud SIM finds the strongest available network. You won’t get 4G on remote hiking trails, but in towns and main roads, it works. We’ve had customers use it on the drive between Medellin and Bogotá without issues.

What happens if I leave Colombia for a visa run or travel to other countries?

That’s where ConnectPls shines. The same device works across 160+ countries. If you fly to Panama for a visa run, or decide to spend a month in Mexico City, you just land and turn it on. Colombia, Panama, and Mexico are all covered (Mexico is Group 2, same 500MB daily; Panama is Group 1 with 4G unlimited but may slow after 5GB/day). No new SIM, no new provider, no setup.