Concentration of Credit Risk - Additional Information (Detail)	Sep. 30, 2013 Customer	Dec. 31, 2012 Customer
Risks And Uncertainties [Abstract]
Concentration risk percentage of revenue minimum	10.00%
Concentration risk percentage of accounts receivable	53.90%	55.50%
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