Document And Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011
Entity Registrant Name	TELEPHONE & DATA SYSTEMS INC /DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0001051512
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2011
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	TDS
Common Shares
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	49,962,745
Special Common Shares
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	46,886,045
Series A Common Shares
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	6,538,176