Document And Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012
Entity Registrant Name	TELEPHONE & DATA SYSTEMS INC /DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0001051512
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2012
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Trading Symbol	TDS
Common Shares
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	101,495,552
Series A Common Shares
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	7,135,334