Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 05, 2015
Document And Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2014
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	TSYS
Entity Registrant Name	TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS INC /FA/
Entity Central Index Key	0001111665
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float		$ 155,083,244
Class A Common Stock
Document And Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			55,862,326
Class B Common Stock
Document And Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			4,801,245