Document And Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012
Entity Registrant Name	United States Cellular Corporation
Entity Central Index Key	0000821130
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2012
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	USM
Series A Common Shares
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	33,005,877
Common Shares
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	51,728,824