Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013
Entity Registrant Name	TELEPHONE & DATA SYSTEMS INC /DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0001051512
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2013
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	TDS
Common Shares
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	100,917,126
Series A Common Shares
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	7,160,055