Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges, divestitures (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		9 Months Ended					3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		23 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	26 Months Ended	38 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	26 Months Ended	38 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	23 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		36 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		23 Months Ended	36 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 10, 2014 Airadigm Communications, Inc.	Sep. 30, 2014 Airadigm Communications, Inc.	Sep. 30, 2014 Airadigm Communications, Inc.	Dec. 31, 2014 Minimum Expected event Airadigm Communications, Inc.	Dec. 31, 2014 Maximum Expected event Airadigm Communications, Inc.	Sep. 30, 2014 Employee related costs including severance, retention and outplacement Airadigm Communications, Inc.		Sep. 30, 2014 Contract termination costs Other current liabilities Airadigm Communications, Inc.		Sep. 30, 2014 Contract termination costs Other deferred liabilities and credits Airadigm Communications, Inc.	Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular	Sep. 30, 2013 U.S. Cellular	Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular	Sep. 30, 2013 U.S. Cellular	Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular Divestiture Transaction	Sep. 30, 2013 U.S. Cellular Divestiture Transaction	Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular Divestiture Transaction	Sep. 30, 2013 U.S. Cellular Divestiture Transaction	Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular Divestiture Transaction	Mar. 05, 2014 U.S. Cellular St. Louis	Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular St. Louis	Dec. 31, 2013 U.S. Cellular Minimum Divestiture Transaction	Dec. 31, 2014 U.S. Cellular Minimum Expected event Divestiture Transaction	Dec. 31, 2015 U.S. Cellular Minimum Expected event Divestiture Transaction	Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular Maximum Divestiture Transaction	Dec. 31, 2013 U.S. Cellular Maximum Divestiture Transaction	Dec. 31, 2014 U.S. Cellular Maximum Expected event Divestiture Transaction	Dec. 31, 2015 U.S. Cellular Maximum Expected event Divestiture Transaction	Sep. 30, 2013 U.S. Cellular Purchase price Divestiture Transaction	Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular Purchase price Divestiture Transaction	Dec. 31, 2013 U.S. Cellular Purchase price Minimum Divestiture Transaction	Dec. 31, 2013 U.S. Cellular Purchase price Maximum Divestiture Transaction	Dec. 31, 2015 U.S. Cellular Sprint Cost Reimbursement Maximum Expected event Divestiture Transaction	Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular Sprint Cost Reimbursement Cash received from divestitures Divestiture Transaction	Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular Sprint Cost Reimbursement (Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net Divestiture Transaction	Sep. 30, 2013 U.S. Cellular Sprint Cost Reimbursement (Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net Divestiture Transaction	Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular Sprint Cost Reimbursement (Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net Divestiture Transaction	Sep. 30, 2013 U.S. Cellular Sprint Cost Reimbursement (Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net Divestiture Transaction	Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular Sprint Cost Reimbursement (Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net Divestiture Transaction	Dec. 31, 2015 U.S. Cellular Sprint Cost Reimbursement (Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net Minimum Expected event Divestiture Transaction	Dec. 31, 2015 U.S. Cellular Sprint Cost Reimbursement (Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net Maximum Expected event Divestiture Transaction	Dec. 31, 2015 U.S. Cellular Sprint Cost Reimbursement Cost of services Maximum Expected event Divestiture Transaction	Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular Employee related costs including severance, retention and outplacement Divestiture Transaction		Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular Contract termination costs Other current liabilities Divestiture Transaction		Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular Contract termination costs Other deferred liabilities and credits Divestiture Transaction		Sep. 30, 2014 U.S. Cellular Contract termination costs Accounts payable Divestiture Transaction
Divestitures
Business divestiture date																					May 16, 2013
Business divestiture description							On May 23, 2014 (the “Signing Date”), U.S. Cellular entered into a License Purchase and Customer Recommendation Agreement with Airadigm. Pursuant to the License Purchase and Customer Recommendation Agreement, on September 10, 2014, Airadigm transferred to U.S. Cellular Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) spectrum licenses and certain tower assets in certain markets in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Michigan, in consideration for $91.5 million in cash. Since both parties to this transaction are controlled by TDS, upon closing, U.S. Cellular recorded the transferred assets at Airadigm’s net book value. The transaction also impacts the expected realization of Airadigm’s federal net operating loss carryforwards and therefore TDS reduced its valuation allowance by $10.8 million upon the transaction closing and recognized an income tax benefit for this same amount. See Note 3 — Income Taxes.														On November 6, 2012, U.S. Cellular entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement with subsidiaries of Sprint Corp., fka Sprint Nextel Corporation (“Sprint”). Pursuant to the Purchase and Sale Agreement, on May 16, 2013, U.S. Cellular transferred customers and certain PCS license spectrum to Sprint in U.S. Cellular’s Chicago, central Illinois, St. Louis and certain Indiana/Michigan/Ohio markets (“Divestiture Markets”) in consideration for $480 million in cash. The Purchase and Sale Agreement also contemplated certain other agreements, together with the Purchase and Sale Agreement collectively referred to as the “Divestiture Transaction.” Pursuant to the Purchase and Sale Agreement, U.S. Cellular and Sprint also entered into certain other agreements, including customer and network transition services agreements, which require U.S. Cellular to provide customer, billing and network services to Sprint for a period of up to 24 months after the May 16, 2013 closing date. Sprint will reimburse U.S. Cellular for providing such services at an amount equal to U.S. Cellular’s estimated costs, including applicable overhead allocations. These services were substantially complete as of March 31, 2014. In addition, these agreements require Sprint to reimburse U.S. Cellular up to $200 million (the “Sprint Cost Reimbursement”) for certain network decommissioning costs, network site lease rent and termination costs, network access termination costs, and employee termination benefits for specified engineering employees.				On March 5, 2014, U.S. Cellular sold the majority of its St. Louis area non-operating market spectrum license for $92.3 million. A gain of $75.8 million was recorded in (Gain) loss on license sales and exchanges in the Consolidated Statement of Operations in the first quarter of 2014.
Transition services agreement duration																													24 months
(Increase) decrease in Operating Income	$ 125,415,000	$ 33,085,000	$ 153,820,000	$ (256,296,000)											$ 51,354,000	$ 43,207,000	$ 93,836,000	$ (177,351,000)	$ (6,794,000)	$ 43,333,000	$ (11,403,000)	$ (164,770,000)	$ (90,314,000)					$ (126,927,000)				$ (140,927,000)
(Gain) loss on license sales and exchanges			(91,446,000)														(91,446,000)							(75,800,000)
Increase (decrease) in valuation allowance					(10,800,000)
Divestiture Financial Impacts
Cash received from divestitures			(151,369,000)	(484,300,000)	(91,500,000)																			(92,300,000)									(480,000,000)	(480,000,000)	(480,000,000)	(480,000,000)	(200,000,000)	(52,000,000)	(1,454,000)	(4,213,000)	(50,648,000)	(4,221,000)	(98,289,000)	(120,000,000)	(175,000,000)	(25,000,000)
Net assets transferred																						160,073,000	160,073,000			160,073,000				160,073,000
Non-cash charges for the write-off and write-down of property under construction and related assets																			(48,000)	(27,000)	290,000	54,000	10,965,000					10,000,000				15,000,000
Employee related costs including severance, retention and outplacement						147,000	647,000	500,000	1,500,000										10,000	(641,000)	(123,000)	2,462,000	14,139,000				13,000,000				16,000,000
Charges for the impairment and decomissioning of various operating assets						(3,495,000)	8,719,000	8,000,000	12,000,000
Contract termination costs						11,042,000	11,450,000	10,000,000	15,000,000										(9,040,000)	2,176,000	21,793,000	18,781,000	81,377,000					70,000,000				100,000,000
Transaction costs																			156,000	362,000	618,000	4,081,000	6,183,000				5,000,000				7,000,000
Total (Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net	(4,790,000)	(1,534,000)	(9,079,000)	(297,637,000)		7,694,000	20,816,000	18,500,000	28,500,000						(10,283,000)	(1,534,000)	(27,694,000)	(243,627,000)	(10,376,000)	(2,343,000)	(28,070,000)	(298,770,000)	(305,552,000)					(341,927,000)				(356,927,000)
Incremental depreciation, amortization and accretion, net of salvage values	205,529,000	255,295,000	635,015,000	751,575,000											148,952,000	200,985,000	465,042,000	593,410,000	3,582,000	45,676,000	16,667,000	134,000,000	215,238,000				215,000,000				216,000,000
Balance Sheet rollforward
Balance, beginning of period																																															2,053,000		13,992,000		30,849,000
Costs incurred										647,000		7,475,000		3,975,000																																	99,000		12,703,000		24,171,000		4,018,000
Cash settlements										(247,000)	[1]	(1,770,000)	[1]																																		(1,121,000)	[2]	(19,390,000)	[2]	(3,380,000)	[2]
Adjustments																																															(221,000)	[3]	1,367,000	[3]	(29,707,000)	[3]	(1,070,000)	[3]
Balance, end of period										$ 400,000		$ 5,705,000		$ 3,975,000																																	$ 810,000		$ 8,672,000		$ 21,933,000		$ 2,948,000

[1] Cash settlement amounts are included in either the Net income or changes in Other assets and liabilities line items as part of Cash flows from operating activities on the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows.

[2] Cash settlement amounts are included in either the Net income, changes in Accounts payable or changes in Other assets and liabilities line items as part of Cash flows from operating activities on the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows.

[3] Adjustment to liability represents changes to previously accrued amounts.