Dish Network’s Customer Losses Continue, Yet Hopeful About 5G Expansion

Dish Network faces a decline in mobile and TV customers in Q1, but remains positive about its 5G network rollout, targeting 70% coverage by next month, and hopes for a turnaround in the future.
5G - TeckNexus

Dish Network experienced a decrease in both mobile and TV customers during Q1, with revenue and earnings also sliding. Despite these setbacks, the company remains optimistic about its 5G network rollout, as it continues to make progress towards meeting its coverage requirements.


Mobile customer numbers fell to 7.91 million, a reduction of 81,000 during the quarter and 290,000 less than the previous year. Although concerning, the losses were less significant than the 343,000 reported in Q1 last year. This slowdown in customer losses provides some hope for the struggling company.

Most customers continue to use T-Mobile US and AT&T networks, even after Dish launched its 5G network in 2022. Co-founder and chairman Charlie Ergen reported that traffic on Dish’s own network is still minimal, partially due to a lack of compatible devices. Currently, there are only five handsets compatible with Dish’s Band 70 spectrum, which forms a significant part of its 5G holding.

Wireless CEO John Swieringa confirmed more phones, including the iPhone, would become compatible soon, which could help boost Dish’s network usage. “We’re ramping this year,” Swieringa said of Dish’s own network usage, indicating a hopeful outlook for the future.

Dish is required to cover 70% of the population with its network by next month, and the company is confident it will achieve this target. EVP of network development Dave Mayo reported that Dish had begun construction on around 18,000 sites by the end of Q1, with 16,000 sites needed to meet the 70% target. All of these sites will need to be fully fibred up and powered, he explained.

The network build has impacted capital spending, with Q1 reports showing a US$10 billion spending plan for 5G, including sums already spent starting in 2021. Spending is expected to be higher for the remaining nine months of this year than it will be for 2024 as a whole, with 5G accounting for a sizeable proportion of outgoings. Company executives indicated that spending will fall once Dish has reached its June rollout targets.

The company’s Q1 financials were less than ideal, with revenue dropping 8.5% to $3.96 billion and net income decreasing to $233 million. Dish also lost over half a million pay TV customers in Q1, leaving it with 9.2 million, including 2 million Sling TV streaming customers.

Despite the ongoing customer losses, Dish’s pay TV ARPU is actually on the up. However, the company needs to find a way to stem these customer losses before it can start building for growth. With the 5G network expansion and the addition of more compatible devices, Dish remains hopeful that its fortunes will turn around in the coming months.


Recent Content

Verizon posted better-than-expected Q1 2025 earnings, with revenue and profits rising. But a record loss of 289,000 postpaid phone subscribers sent the stock down, as investors focused more on churn than cash flow. While prepaid gains and stable guidance offered some optimism, analysts remain cautious about Verizon’s subscriber strategy and pricing pressure.
President Trump’s executive order to modernize environmental permitting may streamline U.S. infrastructure projects—but it notably omits telecom and broadband. Industry experts say pole attachments, state permitting rules, and access to federal lands remain critical hurdles. While the order could bring indirect benefits, real telecom reform still requires sector-specific solutions.
Airtel has acquired 400 MHz of 26 GHz mmWave spectrum from Adani Data Networks, a move that strengthens its high-speed 5G offerings in urban and enterprise zones. The deal enhances Airtel’s ability to scale fixed wireless access, industrial 5G networks, and high-bandwidth consumer services. With India’s spectrum demand surging, this acquisition underscores the critical role of efficient spectrum use and signals a new phase of telecom consolidation.
ETSI has published its first ISAC report for 6G—ETSI GR ISC 001—highlighting 18 use cases across healthcare, public safety, automation, and mobility. The report dives into deployment scenarios, sensing modalities, and KPIs like fine motion accuracy and sensing latency. It also outlines security, privacy, and sustainability guidelines for real-world ISAC integration into 6G networks.
In 2025, 5G surpasses 2.25 billion global connections, marking a pivotal shift toward mainstream adoption. While North America leads in performance and per capita usage, challenges in spectrum policy and enterprise integration remain. This in-depth report from 5G Americas explores the rise of Standalone 5G, the promise of 5G-Advanced, the reality of private network deployments, and the need for smart, forward-looking spectrum strategy.
Low-code platforms like VC4’s Service2Create (S2C) are transforming telecom operations by accelerating service delivery, reducing manual tasks, and simplifying integration with legacy systems. Discover how this technology drives digital transformation, improves efficiency, and future-proofs telecom networks.
Whitepaper
Explore how Generative AI is transforming telecom infrastructure by solving critical industry challenges like massive data management, network optimization, and personalized customer experiences. This whitepaper offers in-depth insights into AI and Gen AI's role in boosting operational efficiency while ensuring security and regulatory compliance. Telecom operators can harness these AI-driven...
Supermicro and Nvidia Logo
Whitepaper
The whitepaper, "How Is Generative AI Optimizing Operational Efficiency and Assurance," provides an in-depth exploration of how Generative AI is transforming the telecom industry. It highlights how AI-driven solutions enhance customer support, optimize network performance, and drive personalized marketing strategies. Additionally, the whitepaper addresses the challenges of integrating AI into...
RADCOM Logo
Article & Insights
Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) have evolved from experimental satellite systems to integral components of global connectivity. The transition from geostationary satellites to low Earth orbit constellations has significantly enhanced mobile broadband services. With the adoption of 3GPP standards, NTNs now seamlessly integrate with terrestrial networks, providing expanded coverage and new opportunities,...

Download Magazine

With Subscription

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Scroll to Top