Pay-TV and wireless service provider DISH Network (DISH) lost more wireless customers in the latest quarter than it appears at first glance. The company reported losing 553,000 wireless customers in the ninety days ended June 30, 2022. But a footnote reveals DISH’s excluded 126,000 former retail customers from its calculation of wireless subscriber addition/losses metric.

DISH once relied on T-Mobile’s CDMA network to serve a portion of its retail wireless customers. T-Mobile shut down that network during the quarter and DISH was unable to migrate 126,000 customers to a new network.

Without explanation, DISH says the customers that did not migrate should not be counted against its addition/losses metric or wireless churn rate.

If we add back the churned customers DISH excludes, the company’s subscriber loss metric is understated by 22.7%.

In what we deem a tacit acknowledgement the exclusion is inappropriate, DISH removed the 126,000 customers lost during the migration from its total wireless subscriber count.