This telco lost over 180,000 customers for Q3 2026

EchoStar and its Boost Mobile might be bought by SpaceX if what we told you the other day holds true, but things aren't that great for the telco itself.

There's a net loss of 182,000 customers for Q3 2026.

The difference from 2025

You've heard about Boost Mobile and EchoStar—though they're far from the popularity of companies like T-Mobile, users are still relying on them for connectivity services. Now that Q3 (July, August, September) has officially ended, it's time to check out the balance sheets. After counting the new customers and subtracting the customers who've left, it turns out that EchoStar has 182,000 fewer customers at the end of September 2026 than in the same period last year.

EchoStar ended this Q3 with approximately 7.2 million wireless subscribers. That's about 4% fewer customers than it had at the end of September 2025. But that's no shocker for EchoStar, since the company has been struggling to keep its customers for some time now. You could say it's a trend.

On a positive note

But the customers who remain are generating more money for EchoStar (they're more valuable than before). The ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) numbers of Boost Mobile reached $39.11 in Q3 2026, beating analysts' expectations of $38.40. It also increased by more than 5% compared to the same quarter last year. So, the MVNO earns more money from each customer, on average, every month.

The company's wireless service revenue reached $855 million, up $19 million (2.3%) year over year. But there's another problem: churn increased from 2.86% to 2.97%. Yes, more customers are abandoning the service.

As you know, EchoStar's Dish Wireless business is going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company is trying to reorganize its finances and negotiate with creditors to find a way out. But Dish Wireless has a particularly delicate issue involving its 5G network, as it owes money to companies that helped build and maintain that network, including tower operators.

Elon's move

As we reported, SpaceX is among the potential buyers of Boost Mobile and its existing wireless network.

There is (at least) one potential obstacle, though. Boost Mobile doesn't rely exclusively on its own infrastructure; it also uses network capacity provided by other carriers, including AT&T and T-Mobile.

And the CEOs of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have all expressed little interest in signing MVNO agreements with Musk's company.

The Big 3's Q3s

These days, nothing in the mobile industry can be described as "100% positive", but things aren't as bad as one would expect.

The Big 3 US carriers all reported positive results for Q3 2026, although their strongest areas differed. Verizon added 406,000 postpaid phone customers, its best third-quarter result in five years, while total operating revenue reached $34.3 billion, up 1.5% year over year.

AT&T reported $32.3 billion in revenue, a 5.3% increase, and added 379,000 postpaid phone customers alongside a record 769,000 advanced home internet subscribers.

T-Mobile reported $19.4 billion in service revenue, up 6%, while net income climbed 27% to $3.5 billion and postpaid net account additions reached 274,000.

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