Concentration of Credit Risk - Additional Information (Detail)	Dec. 31, 2012 Customer	Dec. 31, 2011 Customer
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
Concentration risk percentage of revenue minimum	10.00%
Concentration risk percentage of accounts receivable	55.50%	50.40%
Accounts receivable number of customers	5	5

Concentration Risk Percentage Of Accounts Receivable

No definition available.

Name:	sbac_ConcentrationRiskPercentageOfAccountsReceivable
Namespace Prefix:	sbac_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant