Represents the sum of the carrying value of all the Assets Held-for-Sale at the balance sheet date.

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Current assets (normally turning over within one year or one business cycle if longer) that are held for sale apart from normal operations and anticipated to be sold within one year.

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Long-lived assets that are held for sale apart from normal operations and anticipated to be sold in less than one year.

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Property, plant and equipment that is held for sale apart from normal operations and anticipated to be sold in less than one year.

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Liability (such as a mortgage) related to a disposal group that is held for sale and anticipated to be sold in less than one year. The liability is expected to be discharged as part of the plan of sale for the asset.

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Disclosure of the accounting treatment and method of measurement for nonmonetary exchanges of assets or liabilities or related to a transfer of nonmonetary assets for which the Entity receives no assets in return.

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Disclosure of the difference in values (gain (loss)) between the nonmonetary assets or liabilities exchanged with another entity inclusive of boot (small monetary consideration).

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Aggregate revenue recognized during the period (derived from goods sold, services rendered, insurance premiums, or other activities that constitute an entity's earning process). For financial services companies, also includes investment and interest income, and sales and trading gains.

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Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges - Assets Held for Sale & Exchanges (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		4 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Sep. 30, 2011 US Cellular	Sep. 30, 2010 US Cellular	Sep. 30, 2011 US Cellular	Sep. 30, 2010 US Cellular	Sep. 30, 2011 US Cellular Assets held for sale	Sep. 30, 2011 US Cellular Spectrum exchange
Business acquisition, additional information
Operating revenues	$ 1,325,423,000	$ 1,266,416,000	$ 3,863,744,000	$ 3,721,070,000	$ 1,110,439,000	$ 1,060,781,000	$ 3,243,713,000	$ 3,114,531,000	$ 13,200,000
Operating income	126,924,000	84,687,000	343,152,000	276,112,000	101,620,000	61,359,000	264,464,000	205,535,000	9,600,000
Assets held for sale	60,829,000		60,829,000
Liabilities held for sale	858,000		858,000
Assets held for sale - Current assets									15,900,000
Assets held for sale - Investments									36,500,000
Assets held for sale - Property, plant and equipment									8,400,000
Nonmonetary transactions
Gain on asset exchange										$ 11,800,000
Asset exchange, valuation method										difference between the fair value, calculated using a market approach valuation method, and the carrying value of the licenses surrendered