Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Concentration of credit risk, revenues from four customers	51.00%
Short-term investments	$ 6,018,000	$ 22,300,000
Available for sale securities, shares of common stock		39,871
Net unrealized (loss) gain on available-for-sale securities, net of tax	0	(104,000)	7,000
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	20 years
Straight line revenue	165,800,000	144,000,000	105,200,000
Straight-line ground rent expense	33,700,000	31,000,000	22,300,000
Aquisition and merger related expense	25,600,000	28,100,000	17,000,000
Company contribution	4,400,000	2,900,000	1,900,000
Other comprehensive income (loss), available-for-sale securities, tax	0	(65,000)	4,000
Balance of unrealized gains (losses) included in other accumulated other comprehensive income, net of taxes at the end of the period.	400,000
Payments of Ordinary Dividends, Common Stock	355,574,000	137,765,000	0
Cash distribution per share	$ 0.90	$ 0.35
Interest Costs Capitalized	1,900,000	2,100,000	1,000,000
Labor Costs Capitalized	41,600,000	35,600,000	31,900,000
Defined Contribution Plan, Employer Matching Contribution, Percent	50.00%
Defined Contribution Plan, Maximum Annual Contribution Per Employee, Percent	6.00%
Fiber Tower Corporation [Member]
Available for sale securities, common stock price per share		$ 0.21
Short-term available-for-sale security common stock value		100,000
Currency Exchange Brazilian Real [Member]
Impact of change in functional currency in AOCI			39,800,000
Currency Exchange Mexican Peso [Member]
Impact of change in functional currency in AOCI			$ 33,600,000