Consolidated Balance Sheet (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Accounts receivable
Customer and agent allowances	$ 77	$ 70
Other allowances	$ 1	$ 1
U.S. Cellular shareholders’ equity
Authorized shares (in shares)	190,000,000	190,000,000
Issued shares (in shares)	88,000,000	88,000,000
Outstanding shares (in shares)	85,000,000	86,000,000
Par value	$ 88	$ 88
Variable Interest Entities VIEs
Total VIE assets that can be used to settle only the VIEs' obligations	933	930
Total VIE liabilities for which creditors have no recourse	$ 20	$ 22
Series A Common Shares
U.S. Cellular shareholders’ equity
Authorized shares (in shares)	50,000,000	50,000,000
Issued shares (in shares)	33,000,000	33,000,000
Outstanding shares (in shares)	33,000,000	33,000,000
Par value per share (USD per share)	$ 1	$ 1
Par value	$ 33	$ 33
Common Shares
U.S. Cellular shareholders’ equity
Authorized shares (in shares)	140,000,000	140,000,000
Issued shares (in shares)	55,000,000	55,000,000
Outstanding shares (in shares)	52,000,000	53,000,000
Par value per share (USD per share)	$ 1	$ 1
Par value	$ 55	$ 55
Treasury shares (in shares)	3,000,000	2,000,000