diff --git a/scripts/geodata/file_utils.py b/scripts/geodata/file_utils.py
index bbddd948..5e27fcb6 100644
--- a/scripts/geodata/file_utils.py
+++ b/scripts/geodata/file_utils.py
@@ -1,10 +1,13 @@
 import os
 import subprocess
+import six
 
 
-def download_file(url, dest):
+def download_file(url, dest, retries=3, retry_delay=5):
     ensure_dir(os.path.dirname(dest))
-    return subprocess.call(['wget', url, '-O', dest, '--quiet']) == 0
+    return subprocess.call(['curl', url, '-L', '--retry', six.text_type(retries),
+                            '--retry-delay', six.text_type(retry_delay),
+                            '-o', dest, '--silent']) == 0
 
 
 def unzip_file(filename, dest):