Equipment Installment Plans (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Equipment installment plan receivables
Guarantee liability	$ 92,700	$ 57,500
Imputed interest rate	9.70%	10.20%
Accounting Changes And Error Corrections [Abstract]
Immaterial Error Correction	U.S. Cellular recorded out-of-period adjustments in 2015 due to errors related to equipment installment plan transactions that were attributable to 2014. U.S. Cellular has determined that these adjustments were not material to prior annual periods, and also were not material to the current year results. These equipment installment plan adjustments had the impact of reducing Equipment sales revenues by $6.2 million and Income before income taxes by $5.8 million in 2015.
Equipment sales	$ 646,422	$ 494,810	$ 324,063
Income before income taxes	$ 403,629	(58,704)	$ 257,656
Equipment installment plans
Accounting Changes And Error Corrections [Abstract]
Immaterial Error Correction	U.S. Cellular recorded out-of-period adjustments in 2015 due to errors related to equipment installment plan transactions that were attributable to 2014. U.S. Cellular has determined that these adjustments were not material to prior annual periods, and also were not material to the current year results. These equipment installment plan adjustments had the impact of reducing Equipment sales revenues by $6.2 million and Income before income taxes by $5.8 million in 2015.
Adjustment
Accounting Changes And Error Corrections [Abstract]
Equipment sales	$ 6,200
Income before income taxes	5,800
Short-term
Equipment installment plan receivables
Unbilled equipment installment plan receivables, gross	278,709	127,400
Unbilled deferred interest	(20,810)	(16,365)
Unbilled allowance for credit losses	(13,827)	(3,686)
Unbilled equipment installment plan receivables, net	244,072	107,349
Long-term
Equipment installment plan receivables
Unbilled equipment installment plan receivables, gross	75,738	89,435
Unbilled deferred interest	(2,283)	(2,791)
Unbilled allowance for credit losses	(5,537)	(6,065)
Unbilled equipment installment plan receivables, net	$ 67,918	$ 80,579

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Unearned discounts (other than cash or quantity discounts and the like), finance charges, and interest included in the face amount of receivables, that are shown as a deduction from the related receivables. For example, 1) finance charges booked as a receivable when a loan is made and recognized as income at a later date; and 2) interest charges deducted from the face loan amount, resulting in a discounted amount actually advanced to the borrower (wherein the receivable includes the amount actually advanced to the borrower and the as yet unearned interest income).

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