Arrangements with Variable Interest Entities and Joint Ventures - Noncontrolling Interest (Details) (USD $)	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2011		Jun. 30, 2010		Mar. 31, 2010 LCW Wireless [Member]
Noncontrolling Interest [Line Items]
Noncontrolling Interest - Additional Membership Acquired					23.90%
Noncontrolling Interest - Cost of Additional Membership Acquired					$ 21,000,000
Noncontrolling Interest - Ownership Percentage by Parent					94.60%
Change in Value of Noncontrolling Interest [Abstract]
Beginning balance, January 1	104,788,000		71,632,000
Purchase of membership units in LCW Wireless (1)	0	[1]	(20,973,000)	[1]
Accretion of redeemable non-controlling interests, before tax	14,796,000		2,503,000
Other	(524,000)		0
Ending balance, June 30	$ 119,060,000		$ 53,162,000

[1]     On March 30, 2010, Cricket acquired an additional 23.9% membership interest in LCW Wireless, LLC ("LCW Wireless") from CSM Wireless, LLC (“CSM”) following CSM’s exercise of its option to sell its interest in LCW Wireless to Cricket for $21.0 million, which increased Cricket’s non-controlling membership interest in LCW Wireless to 94.6%. Cricket subsequently acquired the remaining membership interests in LCW Wireless in August 2010, and LCW Wireless merged with and into Cricket in February 2011, with Cricket as the survivin