Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges, acquisitions (Details) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Aggregate license acquisitions
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges
License acquisition agreement amount	$ 54

Amount of agreement to acquire an indefinite-lived intangible asset, either individually or as part of a group.

No definition available.

Name:	usm_IndefiniteLivedIntangibleAssetAgreementAmount
Namespace Prefix:	usm_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant