Business Segment (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
		Sep. 30, 2016		Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2016		Sep. 30, 2015	Dec. 31, 2015
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Service		$ 1,013		$ 1,138	$ 3,021		$ 3,282
Equipment and product sales		288		236	805		620
Total operating revenues		1,301		1,374	3,826		3,902
Cost of services (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion reported below)		305		303	891		897
Cost of equipment and products		321		337	921		907
Selling, general and administrative		440		450	1,299		1,324
Depreciation, amortization and accretion		214		211	636		628
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net		8		5	20		15
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net				(1)	(1)		(130)
(Gain) loss on license sales and exchanges, net		(7)		(24)	(16)		(147)
Operating income (loss)		20		93	76		408
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities		38		40	109		110
Interest and dividend income		15		10	44		28
Interest expense		(42)		(35)	(127)		(103)
Other, net		(1)			1
Income before income taxes		30		108	103		443
Income tax expense (benefit)		14		46	45		178
Net income		16		62	58		265
Depreciation, amortization and accretion		214		211	636		628
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net		8		5	20		15
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net				(1)	(1)		(130)
(Gain) loss on license sales and exchanges, net		(7)		(24)	(16)		(147)
Interest expense		42		35	127		103
Income tax expense		14		46	45		178
Adjusted EBITDA	[1]	287		334	869		912
Investments in unconsolidated entities		459		386	459		386	$ 402
Total assets		9,449	[2]	9,263	9,449	[2]	9,263	$ 9,422	[2]
Capital expenditures		145		194	412		487
U.S. Cellular
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Service		771		896	2,293		2,549
Equipment and product sales		239		173	655		461
Total operating revenues		1,010		1,069	2,948		3,010
Cost of services (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion reported below)		196		199	572		586
Cost of equipment and products		280		287	799		779
Selling, general and administrative		370		375	1,089		1,107
Depreciation, amortization and accretion		155		152	462		450
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net		7		3	16		12
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net				(1)			(114)
(Gain) loss on license sales and exchanges, net		(7)		(24)	(16)		(147)
Operating income (loss)		9		78	26		337
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities		38		40	110		110
Interest and dividend income		14		9	41		26
Interest expense		(28)		(21)	(84)		(61)
Other, net							(1)
Income before income taxes		33		106	93		411
Income tax expense (benefit)	[3]	15		41	39		161
Net income		18		65	54		250
Depreciation, amortization and accretion		155		152	462		450
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net		7		3	16		12
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net				(1)			(114)
(Gain) loss on license sales and exchanges, net		(7)		(24)	(16)		(147)
Interest expense		28		21	84		61
Income tax expense	[3]	15		41	39		161
Adjusted EBITDA	[1]	216		257	639		673
Investments in unconsolidated entities		420		348	420		348
Total assets		7,104		6,911	7,104		6,911
Capital expenditures		103		135	275		335
TDS Telecom
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Service		248		248	746		743
Equipment and product sales		39		52	123		132
Total operating revenues		287		299	868		874
Cost of services (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion reported below)		110		103	320		308
Cost of equipment and products		33		44	103		111
Selling, general and administrative		75		77	222		222
Depreciation, amortization and accretion		57		57	168		170
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net		2		2	4		3
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net							(3)
Operating income (loss)		12		17	53		64
Interest and dividend income		1		1	2		2
Interest expense		(1)			(2)
Income before income taxes		11		17	53		65
Income tax expense (benefit)	[3]	4		8	20		27
Net income		7		9	32		38
Depreciation, amortization and accretion		57		57	168		170
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net		2		2	4		3
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net							(3)
Interest expense		1			2
Income tax expense	[3]	4		8	20		27
Adjusted EBITDA	[1]	71		76	226		236
Investments in unconsolidated entities		4		4	4		4
Total assets		2,123		2,193	2,123		2,193
Capital expenditures		40		56	128		146
TDS Telecom Wireline
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Service		174		175	522		526
Equipment and product sales					1		1
Total operating revenues		175		175	523		527
Cost of services (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion reported below)		67		64	192		189
Cost of equipment and products		1		1	2		2
Selling, general and administrative		50		50	148		145
Depreciation, amortization and accretion	[4]	41		41	119		124
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net		1		2	2		3
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net							(3)
Operating income (loss)		16		18	61		67
Interest and dividend income		1		1	2		2
Interest expense					1		1
Income before income taxes		17		19	63		70
Depreciation, amortization and accretion	[4]	41		41	119		124
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net		1		2	2		3
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net							(3)
Interest expense					(1)		(1)
Adjusted EBITDA	[1]	58		61	183		193
Investments in unconsolidated entities		4		4	4		4
Total assets		1,259		1,322	1,259		1,322
Capital expenditures		27		38	$ 82		91
TDS Telecom Wireline | Depreciation out-of-period adjustment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Out-of-period adjustment description					During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, TDS recorded an out-of-period adjustment attributable to the third quarter of 2014 through the first quarter of 2016 related to the over-depreciation of certain assets in the Wireline segment. TDS has determined that this adjustment was not material to the prior quarterly or annual periods and also was not material to the current period or anticipated full year 2016 results. As a result of this out-of-period adjustment, Depreciation, amortization and accretion expense decreased by $4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016. This adjustment was made in the second quarter of 2016.
TDS Telecom Wireline | Depreciation Amortization Accretion Expense [Member] | Depreciation out-of-period adjustment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Out-of-period adjustment					$ 4
TDS Telecom Cable
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Service		46		44	136		132
Total operating revenues		46		44	137		132
Cost of services (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion reported below)		23		20	69		59
Selling, general and administrative		13		14	37		41
Depreciation, amortization and accretion		9		9	27		26
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net		1			2		(1)
Operating income (loss)				1	1		6
Income before income taxes				1	1		7
Depreciation, amortization and accretion		9		9	27		26
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net		1			2		(1)
Adjusted EBITDA	[1]	10		10	30		32
Total assets		592		572	592		572
Capital expenditures		11		13	41		37
TDS Telecom HMS
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Service		29		30	91		88
Equipment and product sales		39		51	121		130
Total operating revenues		68		82	212		218
Cost of services (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion reported below)		21		21	61		63
Cost of equipment and products		33		43	101		109
Selling, general and administrative		12		12	37		36
Depreciation, amortization and accretion		7		7	22		20
Operating income (loss)		(5)		(2)	(9)		(10)
Interest expense		(1)		(1)	(3)		(2)
Income before income taxes		(6)		(2)	(12)		(11)
Depreciation, amortization and accretion		7		7	22		20
Interest expense		1		1	3		2
Adjusted EBITDA	[1]	3		5	13		10
Total assets		273		299	273		299
Capital expenditures		2		5	6		19
TDS Telecom Eliminations
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Service		(1)		(1)	(3)		(3)
Total operating revenues		(1)		(1)	(3)		(3)
Cost of services (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion reported below)		(1)		(1)	(3)		(3)
Corporate, Eliminations and Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Service		(6)		(6)	(18)		(10)
Equipment and product sales		10		11	27		27
Total operating revenues		4		6	10		18
Cost of services (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion reported below)		(1)		1	(1)		3
Cost of equipment and products		8		6	19		17
Selling, general and administrative		(5)		(2)	(12)		(5)
Depreciation, amortization and accretion		2		2	6		8
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net		(1)
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net					(1)		(13)
Operating income (loss)		(1)		(2)	(3)		7
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities					(1)
Interest and dividend income					1
Interest expense		(13)		(14)	(41)		(42)
Other, net		(1)			1		1
Income before income taxes		(14)		(15)	(43)		(33)
Income tax expense (benefit)	[3]	(5)		(3)	(14)		(10)
Net income		(9)		(12)	(28)		(23)
Depreciation, amortization and accretion		2		2	6		8
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net		(1)
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net					(1)		(13)
Interest expense		13		14	41		42
Income tax expense	[3]	(5)		(3)	(14)		(10)
Adjusted EBITDA	[1]			1	4		3
Investments in unconsolidated entities		35		34	35		34
Total assets		222		159	222		159
Capital expenditures		$ 2		$ 3	$ 9		$ 6

[1] Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and accretion (“Adjusted EBITDA”) is a segment measure reported to the chief operating decision maker for purposes of making decisions about allocating resources to the segments and assessing their performance. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income, adjusted for the items set forth in the reconciliation above. TDS believes Adjusted EBITDA is a useful measure of TDS’ operating results before significant recurring non-cash charges, gains and losses, and other items as presented above as they provide additional relevant and useful information to investors and other users of TDS' financial data in evaluating the effectiveness of its operations and underlying business trends in a manner that is consistent with management's evaluation of business performance.

[2] The consolidated total assets as of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 include assets held by consolidated VIEs of $805 million and $658 million, respectively, which are not available to be used to settle the obligations of TDS. The consolidated total liabilities as of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 include certain liabilities of consolidated VIEs of $15 million and $1 million, respectively, for which the creditors of the VIEs have no recourse to the general credit of TDS. See Note 9 — Variable Interest Entities for additional information.

[3] Income tax expense (benefit) is not provided at the individual segment level for Wireline, Cable and HMS. TDS calculates income tax expense for "TDS Telecom Total".

[4] During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, TDS recorded an out-of-period adjustment attributable to the third quarter of 2014 through the first quarter of 2016 related to the over-depreciation of certain assets in the Wireline segment. TDS has determined that this adjustment was not material to the prior quarterly or annual periods and also was not material to the current period or anticipated full year 2016 results. As a result of this out-of-period adjustment, Depreciation, amortization and accretion expense decreased by $4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016. This adjustment was made in the second quarter of 2016.