Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges, acquisitions (Details) (USD $)	9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended						9 Months Ended										9 Months Ended				0 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014 Acquisitions		Sep. 30, 2013 Acquisitions		Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular	Dec. 31, 2013 U.S. Cellular	Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular License Acquisitions		Sep. 30, 2013 U.S. Cellular License Acquisitions		Sep. 30, 2014 TDS Telecom Wireline		Dec. 31, 2013 TDS Telecom Wireline		Sep. 30, 2014 TDS Telecom Cable	Dec. 31, 2013 TDS Telecom Cable	Sep. 30, 2014 TDS Telecom Cable Business Acquisitions		Sep. 30, 2013 TDS Telecom Cable Business Acquisitions		Sep. 01, 2014 TDS Telecom Cable Business Acquisitions BendBroadband	Sep. 30, 2014 TDS Telecom Cable Business Acquisitions BendBroadband	Sep. 30, 2014 TDS Telecom HMS	Dec. 31, 2013 TDS Telecom HMS	Sep. 30, 2014 Non-Reportable Segment	Dec. 31, 2013 Non-Reportable Segment
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges
Description of acquired entity																									On September 1, 2014, TDS acquired substantially all of the assets of a group of companies operating as BendBroadband (“Bend”), headquartered in Bend, Oregon for $261.0 million in cash, less $1.0 million relating to a preliminary working capital adjustment and other adjustments. Bend is a full-service communications company, offering an extensive range of broadband, fiber connectivity, cable television and telephone services for commercial and residential customers in Central Oregon. As part of the agreement, TDS also acquired a Tier III data center providing colocation and managed services and a cable advertising and broadcast business. Bend service offerings complement the current portfolio of products offered through TDS Telecom businesses. Goodwill was recorded due primarily to the expectation of future growth and synergies in Cable segment operations. The operations of the data center are included in the HMS segment. The operations of the cable and the advertising and broadcast businesses are included in the Cable segment.
Working capital adjustment																								$ 1,000,000
Weighted average useful life, acquired finite lived intangibles	4 years 6 months	2 years 11 months
Acquisition agreement amount																								261,000,000
Intangible assets subject to amortization				13,613,000	[1]	11,542,000	[1]													13,613,000	[1],[2]	11,542,000	[1]
Net tangible assets (liabilities)				96,839,000		67,609,000														96,839,000	[2]	67,609,000
Purchase price				303,493,000	[3]	280,629,000	[3]			41,707,000	[3]	16,540,000	[3]							261,786,000	[2],[3]	264,089,000	[3]
Goodwill	783,280,000		836,843,000	33,002,000	[4]	61,270,000	[4]	232,041,000	232,041,000					417,893,000	[5]	420,458,000	[5]	94,714,000	61,712,000	33,002,000	[2],[4]	61,270,000	[4]			34,830,000	118,830,000	3,802,000	3,802,000
Licenses	1,400,808,000		1,423,779,000	44,410,000		16,540,000				41,707,000		16,540,000								2,703,000	[2]
Franchise rights	$ 238,950,000		$ 123,668,000	$ 115,629,000		$ 123,668,000														$ 115,629,000	[2]	$ 123,668,000

[1] At the date of acquisition, the weighted average amortization period for Intangible Assets Subject to Amortization acquired was 4.5 years in 2014 and 2.9 years in 2013.

[2] The allocation of purchase price for Bend is preliminary subject to the final valuation of the tangible assets.

[3] Cash amounts paid for acquisitions may differ from the purchase price due to cash acquired in the transactions and the timing of cash payments related to the respective transactions.

[4] The entire amount of Goodwill acquired in 2014 and 2013 was amortizable for income tax purposes.

[5] On July 31, 2014, TDS Telecom sold certain Wireline markets.