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Acquisitions Divestures And Exchanges
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2017
Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges [Abstract]  
Acquisitions, Divestures and Exchanges

Note 5 Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges

In February 2016, U.S. Cellular entered into an agreement with a third party to exchange certain 700 MHz licenses for certain AWS and PCS licenses and $28 million of cash.  This license exchange was accomplished in two closings.  The first closing occurred in the second quarter of 2016, at which time U.S. Cellular received $13 million of cash and recorded a gain of $9 million.  The second closing occurred in the first quarter of 2017, at which time U.S. Cellular received $15 million of cash and recorded a gain of $17 million. 

In July 2016, the FCC announced U.S. Cellular as a qualified bidder in the FCC’s forward auction of 600 MHz spectrum licenses, referred to as Auction 1002.  Prior to commencement of the forward auction, U.S. Cellular made an upfront payment to the FCC of $143 million in June 2016 to establish its initial bidding eligibility.  In April 2017, the FCC announced by way of public notice that U.S. Cellular was the winning bidder for 188 licenses for an aggregate purchase price of $329 million.  U.S. Cellular paid the remaining $186 million to the FCC and was granted the licenses during the second quarter of 2017.