Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges, divestitures (Details) $ in Thousands		1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		35 Months Ended	36 Months Ended
	May. 16, 2013 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Divestiture Financial Impacts
Cash received from divestitures and exchanges						$ 314,352	$ 143,801
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net				$ (643)	$ (10,283)	$ (113,825)	(27,694)
Divestiture transaction
Divestitures
Business divestiture description						On May 16, 2013, pursuant to a Purchase and Sale Agreement, U.S. Cellular sold customers and certain PCS spectrum licenses to subsidiaries of Sprint Corp. fka Sprint Nextel Corporation (“Sprint”) in U.S. Cellular’s Chicago, central Illinois, St. Louis and certain Indiana/Michigan/Ohio markets (“Divestiture Markets”) in consideration for $480 million in cash. The Purchase and Sale Agreement also contemplated certain other agreements, together with the Purchase and Sale Agreement collectively referred to as the “Divestiture Transaction.” These agreements require Sprint to reimburse U.S. Cellular up to $200 million (the “Sprint Cost Reimbursement”) for certain network decommissioning costs, network site lease rent and termination costs, network access termination costs, and employee termination benefits for specified engineering employees.
Divestiture Financial Impacts
Cash received from divestitures and exchanges	$ 480,000
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net				$ (300)	$ (10,400)	$ (6,200)	(28,100)
Tower sale
Divestitures
Business divestiture description						In December 2014, U.S. Cellular entered into an agreement with a third party to sell 595 towers and certain related contracts, assets, and liabilities for $159.0 million.  This agreement and related transactions are referred to as the “Tower Sale” and were accomplished in two closings.  The first closing occurred in December 2014 and included the sale of 236 towers, without tenants, for $10.0 million.  On this same date, U.S. Cellular received $7.5 million in earnest money.  At the time of the first closing, a $3.8 million gain was recorded.  The second closing for the remaining 359 towers, primarily with tenants, took place in January 2015, at which time U.S. Cellular received $141.5 million in additional cash proceeds and recorded a gain of $107.7 million in (Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net.
Number of towers				595		595		595
Divestiture Financial Impacts
Cash received from divestitures and exchanges						$ 159,000
Tower sale - first closing
Divestitures
Number of towers			236
Divestiture Financial Impacts
Cash received from divestitures and exchanges			$ 10,000
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net			(3,800)
Tower sale - second closing
Divestitures
Number of towers		359
Divestiture Financial Impacts
Cash received from divestitures and exchanges		$ 141,500
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net		$ (107,700)
Sprint Cost Reimbursement | Divestiture transaction
Divestiture Financial Impacts
Cash received from divestitures and exchanges						$ 27,600	$ 52,000	$ 109,300
Sprint Cost Reimbursement | Maximum | Expected event | Divestiture transaction
Divestiture Financial Impacts
Cash received from divestitures and exchanges									$ 200,000
Earnest money received | Tower sale - first closing
Divestiture Financial Impacts
Cash received from divestitures and exchanges			$ 7,500