Acquisitions (Details) $ in Thousands		12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
land interests acquired				1,200
Site rental contracts and customer relationships, net		$ 3,298,778	$ 3,421,180
Goodwill		$ 5,757,676	5,513,551	$ 5,196,485
Sunesys [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Consideration transferred			$ 1,000,000
Fiber Miles			10,000
Percentage of FIber Miles		60.00%
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Current Assets			$ 15,306
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Property, Plant, and Equipment			444,394
Business Acquisition, Goodwill, Expected Tax Deductible Amount	[1]		331,775
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Intangible Assets, Other than Goodwill			254,079
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Current Liabilities			(20,233)
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Noncurrent Liabilities			(37,356)
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired, Goodwill, and Liabilities Assumed, Net	[2]		987,965
Business Combination, Pro Forma Information, Revenue of Acquiree since Acquisition Date, Actual		$ 112,600	$ 41,400
Land Interests Acquired [Domain]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Consideration transferred				$ 354,000
AT&T [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Tower count as a percentage of total towers		22.00%
TDC [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Consideration transferred		$ 461,000
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Property, Plant, and Equipment		$ 107,000
Tower Count		330
Site rental contracts and customer relationships, net		$ 140,000
Goodwill		$ 211,000

[1] The final purchase price allocation for the Sunesys Acquisition resulted in the recognition of goodwill based on the Company's expectation to leverage the Sunesys fiber footprint to support new small cell networks. The Sunesys fiber is complementary to the Company's existing fiber assets and is located where the Company expects to see wireless carrier network investments.

[2] Assets acquired in the Sunesys Acquisition are included in the Company's REIT and as such, no deferred taxes were recorded in connection with the Sunesys Acquisition.