Significant Acquisitions and Other Transactions (Details) (USD $)	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Nov. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009	Dec. 31, 2011 STX Wireless Acquisition [Member] customers	Dec. 31, 2010 STX Wireless Acquisition [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Pocket Customer Call Center [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Savary Island Acquisition [Member]	Nov. 03, 2011 T-Mobile and Affiliates [Member] MHz	Dec. 31, 2011 STX Wireless [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 STX Wireless [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 STX Wireless Acquisition [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Savary Island [Member]	Nov. 03, 2011 Savary Island [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Denali [Member]	Dec. 27, 2010 Non Negotiable Promissory Notes Due in 2015 [Member] Promissory Note [Member]	Nov. 30, 2011 Savary Island Credit Agreement [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Savary Island Credit Agreement [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Savary Island Credit Agreement [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Ring Island [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Ring Island [Member] Savary Island [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Pocket Wireless [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Pocket Wireless [Member] STX Wireless Acquisition [Member] customers	Dec. 31, 2010 Pocket Wireless [Member] Cricket Communications [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Pocket Wireless [Member] Loan and Security Agreement With Pocket [Member] STX Wireless Acquisition [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Cricket Communications [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Cricket Communications [Member] STX Wireless Acquisition [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Wireless Licenses [Member] Verizon Wireless [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Customer Relationships [Member] STX Wireless Acquisition [Member]	Nov. 30, 2011 Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Syracuse [Member] T-Mobile and Affiliates [Member] MHz	Nov. 30, 2011 Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and New Mexico [Member] Cricket Communications [Member] MHz markets	Dec. 31, 2011 Chicago, IL [Member] MHz	Nov. 03, 2011 Chicago, IL [Member] Verizon Wireless [Member] MHz	Nov. 03, 2011 Various markets across the U.S. [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Unused wireless spectrum assigned									10																					10
Additional wireless spectrum received in exchange																															10,000
Existing markets to receive additional spectrum																															7
License agreement, non-monetary net gain	$ 20,500,000
Capacity of purchase agreement																																	12
Spectrum capacity																																	700
Purchase agreement, value																																	204,000,000
Current operating capacity																																10
Sales of excess capacity																																		188,000,000
Assets held for sale		204,256,000	0										85,200,000															119,100,000
Business combination debt assumed																		170,500,000	211,600,000
Line of credit facility additional borrowing capacity for working capital needs																		5,000,000
Canceled debt, principal amount																	41,100,000
Maximum Loan Committed to Joint Venture Partner																									30,000,000
Controlling Membership Interest Percentage										75.75%														75.75%
Noncontrolling Interest, Ownership Percentage by Noncontrolling Owners										24.25%	24.25%
Customers Provided Service Upon Commencement Of Operations					700,000																		323,000
POP Network Footprint					4,400,000
Business Combination, Consideration Transferred [Abstract]
Cash					40,730,000
Business Combination, Consideration Transferred, Other																							34,101,000				65,793,000
Total consideration					140,624,000
Variable Interest Entity - Ownership Percentage													85.00%		82.50%
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Changes, Purchase of Interest by Parent																17.50%
Joint Venture Partner Contribution																				5,100,000
Assets:
Inventories					2,331,000
Other current assets					845,000
Property and equipment					41,971,000
Wireless licenses					33,716,000
Customer relationships																													50,435,000
Goodwill					31,326,000
Total Assets					160,624,000
Liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities					3,752,000
Deferred revenue					4,365,000
Deferred tax liability					10,693,000
Other long-term liabilities					1,190,000
Total liabilities					20,000,000
Total net assets acquired					140,624,000
Business combination, gain (loss) on exchange of non-controlling interest												48,400,000
Business Combination, Acquisition of Less than 100 Percent, Noncontrolling Interest, Fair Value					51,500,000
Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest, Equity, Carrying Amount		95,910,000	104,788,000	71,632,000	90,700,000	99,500,000		5,300,000
Noncontrolling Interest, Pro Rata Distributions Received																						1,700,000				5,700,000
Noncontrolling Interest Buyout Minimum Cash Consideration					25,000,000
Accretion of redeemable non-controlling interests, before tax		(7,844,000)	108,030,000		(8,900,000)	48,100,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage																		9.50%							8.00%
Post-acquisition charges		26,393,000	0	0
Purchases of property and equipment							850,000
Noncontrolling Interest Buyout Subsequent Ownership PercentageThreshold					9.90%
Limited Liability Company (LLC) or Limited Partnership (LP), Managing Member or General Partner, Ownership Interest																					15.00%
Period to assign entire contronlling membership interest								30 days
Period after breach to pay spectrum lease fees or fundn working capital loans								30 days
Period for which break may continue after written notice								120 days
Business Combination Cost of Acquired Entity Additional Purchase Price if Sale is Completed Without Incurring Any Unjust Enrichment Payments								150,000
Sales agreeement, value														$ 172,000,000