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The type of document being provided (such as 10-K, 10-Q, N-1A, etc). The document type should be limited to the same value as the supporting SEC submission type. The acceptable values are as follows: S-1, S-3, S-4, S-11, F-1, F-3, F-4, F-9, F-10, 6-K, 8-K, 10, 10-K, 10-Q, 20-F, 40-F, N-1A, 485BPOS, NCSR, N-Q, and Other.

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Document And Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
Document And Entity Information (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2010	Jun. 30, 2010	Jan. 31, 2011 Series A Common Shares	Jan. 31, 2011 Common Shares
Entity Registrant Name	United States Cellular Corporation
Entity Central Index Key	0000821130
Document Type	8-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2010
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float		$ 629,974,403
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2010
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	USM
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			33,005,877	52,536,707