Variable Interest Entities - Consolidated Balance Sheet (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		Jun. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents		$ 418	$ 285
Accounts receivable		874	919
Inventory, net		145	162
Other current assets		29	20
Licenses		2,621	2,471
Property, plant and equipment, net		2,258	2,207
Operating lease right-of-use assets		914	900
Other assets and deferred charges		544	566
Total assets	[1]	8,500	8,164
Liabilities
Current liabilities		697	750
Long-term operating lease liabilities		874	865
Other deferred liabilities and credits		346	319
Consolidated Variable Interest Entities
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents		18	19
Accounts receivable		610	639
Inventory, net		3	6
Other current assets		19	7
Licenses		649	649
Property, plant and equipment, net		108	104
Operating lease right-of-use assets		44	44
Other assets and deferred charges		312	346
Total assets		1,763	1,814
Liabilities
Current liabilities		30	32
Long-term operating lease liabilities		40	41
Other deferred liabilities and credits		15	14
Total liabilities		$ 85	$ 87

[1] The consolidated total assets as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, include assets held by consolidated variable interest entities (VIEs) of $1,101 million and $930 million, respectively, which are not available to be used to settle the obligations of U.S. Cellular. The consolidated total liabilities as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, include certain liabilities of consolidated VIEs of $21 million and $22 million, respectively, for which the creditors of the VIEs have no recourse to the general credit of U.S. Cellular. See Note 10 — Variable Interest Entities for additional information.