Consolidated Balance Sheet (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 336,893	$ 211,513
Accounts receivable
Customers and agents, less allowances of $39,673 and $37,654, respectively	466,830us-gaap_AccountsReceivableNetCurrent	466,048us-gaap_AccountsReceivableNetCurrent
Roaming	5,342usm_ReceivablesNetCurrentRoaming	23,865usm_ReceivablesNetCurrentRoaming
Affiliated	29,054us-gaap_DueFromAffiliateCurrent	994us-gaap_DueFromAffiliateCurrent
Other, less allowances of $842 and $859, respectively	57,772us-gaap_OtherReceivables	66,051us-gaap_OtherReceivables
Inventory, net	164,900us-gaap_InventoryNet	267,068us-gaap_InventoryNet
Prepaid expenses	69,702us-gaap_PrepaidExpenseCurrent	59,744us-gaap_PrepaidExpenseCurrent
Net deferred income tax asset	77,246	93,058
Other current assets	18,112us-gaap_OtherAssetsCurrent	90,834us-gaap_OtherAssetsCurrent
Total current assets	1,225,851us-gaap_AssetsCurrent	1,279,175us-gaap_AssetsCurrent
Assets held for sale	22,203	107,055
Investments
Licenses	1,827,102	1,443,438
Goodwill	370,151us-gaap_Goodwill	370,151us-gaap_Goodwill
Investments in unconsolidated entities	304,501	283,014
Total investments	2,501,754us-gaap_LongTermInvestments	2,096,603us-gaap_LongTermInvestments
Property, plant and equipment
In service and under construction	7,426,410us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentGross	7,458,740us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentGross
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization	4,781,293	4,730,523
Property, plant and equipment, net	2,645,117us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentNet	2,728,217us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentNet
Other assets and deferred charges	211,453us-gaap_OtherAssetsNoncurrent	276,218us-gaap_OtherAssetsNoncurrent
Total assets	6,606,378us-gaap_Assets	6,487,268us-gaap_Assets
Current liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt	57	46
Accounts payable
Affiliated	8,044us-gaap_DueToAffiliateCurrent	9,774us-gaap_DueToAffiliateCurrent
Trade	245,170us-gaap_AccountsPayableTradeCurrent	306,845us-gaap_AccountsPayableTradeCurrent
Customer deposits and deferred revenues	301,419	287,562
Accrued taxes	139,407us-gaap_TaxesPayableCurrent	36,652us-gaap_TaxesPayableCurrent
Accrued compensation	36,957	66,162
Other current liabilities	130,780us-gaap_OtherLiabilitiesCurrent	149,853us-gaap_OtherLiabilitiesCurrent
Total current liabilities	861,834us-gaap_LiabilitiesCurrent	856,894us-gaap_LiabilitiesCurrent
Liabilities held for sale		20,934
Deferred liabilities and credits
Net deferred income tax liability	816,999	859,867
Other deferred liabilities and credits	295,287us-gaap_OtherLiabilitiesNoncurrent	284,002us-gaap_OtherLiabilitiesNoncurrent
Long-term debt	1,151,901	1,151,819
Commitments and contingencies
Noncontrolling interests with redemption features	6,619	1,150
U.S. Cellular shareholders' equity
Series A Common and Common Shares	88,074us-gaap_CommonStockValue	88,074us-gaap_CommonStockValue
Additional paid-in capital	1,478,910us-gaap_AdditionalPaidInCapital	1,472,558us-gaap_AdditionalPaidInCapital
Treasury Shares, at cost	(170,544)us-gaap_TreasuryStockValue	(169,139)us-gaap_TreasuryStockValue
Retained earnings	2,067,455	1,910,498
Total U.S. Cellular shareholders' equity	3,463,895us-gaap_StockholdersEquity	3,301,991us-gaap_StockholdersEquity
Noncontrolling interests	9,843us-gaap_MinorityInterest	10,611us-gaap_MinorityInterest
Total equity	3,473,738	3,312,602
Total liabilities and equity	$ 6,606,378	$ 6,487,268

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Carrying value as of the balance sheet date of obligations incurred (and for which invoices have typically been received) and payable to vendors for goods and services received that are used in an entity's business. Used to reflect the current portion of the liabilities (due within one year or within the normal operating cycle if longer).