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Property management fee percentage.

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Amount of noncash expense included in interest expense to amortize debt discount and premium associated with the related debt instruments. Excludes amortization of financing costs. Alternate captions include noncash interest expense.

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Face (par) amount of debt instrument at time of issuance.

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Contractual interest rate for funds borrowed, under the debt agreement.

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Debt (Secured Tower Revenue Securities) (Narrative) (Details)								12 Months Ended
	Jul. 15, 2016 USD ($)	Jul. 07, 2016 USD ($)	Oct. 14, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 15, 2014 USD ($)	Apr. 18, 2013 USD ($)	Aug. 09, 2012 USD ($)	Apr. 16, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) site	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt								$ 8,775,583,000	$ 8,452,070,000
Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate number of tower sites owned by Borrowers \| site								10,535
Property management fee percentage								4.50%
U.S. Treasury rate term								10 years
Interest added to Treasury rate and credit-based spread for non-compliance								5.00%
Debt instrument, additional borrowings								$ 700,000,000
Long-term debt								$ 4,700,000,000
2010 Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Deferred financing fees							$ 8,100,000
2010-1C Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount							$ 680,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage							4.254%
Repayment date of debt instrument							Apr. 15, 2015
Debt instrument, maturity date							Apr. 16, 2040
Debt discount expensed				$ 1,100,000
2010-2C Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount							$ 550,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage							5.101%
Repayment date of debt instrument							Apr. 11, 2017
Debt instrument, maturity date							Apr. 09, 2042	Apr. 11, 2017
Write-off of deferred financing fees	$ 1,000,000
Repayments of long-term debt		$ 550,000,000
Long-term debt									548,268,000
2012 Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
No prepayment consideration period								12 months
2012-1C Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount						$ 610,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage						2.933%
Repayment date of debt instrument						Dec. 11, 2017
Debt instrument, maturity date						Dec. 09, 2042		Dec. 11, 2017
Deferred financing fees						$ 14,900,000
Long-term debt								$ 607,157,000	604,229,000
2013 Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount					$ 1,330,000,000
Deferred financing fees					$ 25,500,000
Debt instrument, weighted average interest rate					3.218%
2013-1C Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
No prepayment consideration period								12 months
Debt instrument, face amount					$ 425,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage					2.24%
Repayment date of debt instrument					Apr. 10, 2018
Debt instrument, maturity date					Apr. 09, 2043			Apr. 10, 2018
Long-term debt								$ 422,768,000	421,099,000
2013-2C Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
No prepayment consideration period								18 months
Debt instrument, face amount					$ 575,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage					3.722%
Repayment date of debt instrument					Apr. 11, 2023
Debt instrument, maturity date					Apr. 09, 2048			Apr. 11, 2023
Long-term debt								$ 567,545,000	566,523,000
2013-1D Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
No prepayment consideration period								12 months
Debt instrument, face amount					$ 330,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage					3.598%
Repayment date of debt instrument					Apr. 10, 2018
Debt instrument, maturity date					Apr. 09, 2043			Apr. 10, 2018
Long-term debt								$ 328,225,000	326,918,000
2014 Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount				1,540,000,000
Deferred financing fees				$ 22,500,000
Debt instrument, weighted average interest rate				3.289%
2014-1C Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
No prepayment consideration period								12 months
Debt instrument, face amount				$ 920,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage				2.898%
Repayment date of debt instrument				Oct. 08, 2019
Debt instrument, maturity date				Oct. 11, 2044				Oct. 08, 2019
Long-term debt								$ 912,219,000	909,595,000
2014-2C Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
No prepayment consideration period								18 months
Debt instrument, face amount				$ 620,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage				3.869%
Repayment date of debt instrument				Oct. 08, 2024
Debt instrument, maturity date				Oct. 08, 2049				Oct. 08, 2024
Long-term debt								$ 612,641,000	611,853,000
2015-1C Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
No prepayment consideration period								12 months
Debt instrument, face amount			$ 500,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage			3.156%
Repayment date of debt instrument			Oct. 08, 2020
Debt instrument, maturity date			Oct. 10, 2045					Oct. 08, 2020
Deferred financing fees			$ 11,200,000
Debt service coverage ratio			2
Long-term debt								$ 491,289,000	$ 489,496,000
2016-1C Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount		$ 700,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage		2.877%
Repayment date of debt instrument		Jul. 09, 2021
Debt instrument, maturity date		Jul. 10, 2046						Jul. 09, 2021
Deferred financing fees		$ 9,500,000
Long-term debt								$ 691,322,000
Minimum [Member] \| Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Additional interest rate for non-compliance								5.00%
Excess Cash Flow Reserve [Member] \| Minimum [Member] \| Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt service coverage ratio								1.30
Amortization Period Prepay [Member] \| Maximum [Member] \| Tower Securities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt service coverage ratio								1.15