Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2015	Oct. 27, 2015
Document And Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	TSYS
Entity Registrant Name	TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS INC /FA/
Entity Central Index Key	0001111665
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Class A Common Stock
Document And Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		56,476,950
Class B Common Stock
Document And Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		4,801,245