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Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges, acquisitions (Details) (USD $)
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
 12 Months Ended 1 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Dec. 31, 2013
Aug. 31, 2013
Sep. 30, 2014
Oct. 31, 2013
Jun. 30, 2012
Dec. 31, 2012
Aug. 31, 2012
Nov. 30, 2012
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges                  
Goodwill $ 771,352us-gaap_Goodwill $ 836,843us-gaap_Goodwill         $ 797,194us-gaap_Goodwill [1]    
Licenses 1,453,574us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedLicenseAgreements 1,423,779us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedLicenseAgreements              
Franchise rights 244,300us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedFranchiseRights 123,668us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedFranchiseRights              
Acquisitions                  
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges                  
Purchase price 315,496us-gaap_BusinessCombinationConsiderationTransferred1
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_AcquisitionsMember		 [2] 324,166us-gaap_BusinessCombinationConsiderationTransferred1
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_AcquisitionsMember		 [2]              
Goodwill 33,610us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_AcquisitionsMember		 [3] 76,915us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_AcquisitionsMember		 [3]              
Licenses 44,410us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedLicenseAgreements
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_AcquisitionsMember		 16,540us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedLicenseAgreements
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_AcquisitionsMember		              
Franchise rights 120,979us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedFranchiseRights
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_AcquisitionsMember		 123,668us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedFranchiseRights
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_AcquisitionsMember		              
Intangible assets subject to amortization 14,056us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedIntangibles
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_AcquisitionsMember		 [4] 28,725us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedIntangibles
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_AcquisitionsMember		 [4]              
Net tangible assets (liabilities) 102,441us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedNet
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_AcquisitionsMember		 78,318us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedNet
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_AcquisitionsMember		              
U.S. Cellular                  
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges                  
Goodwill 227,406us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_USCellularSegmentMember		 232,041us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_USCellularSegmentMember		         269,307us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_USCellularSegmentMember		 [1]    
U.S. Cellular | License Acquisitions                  
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges                  
Purchase price 41,707us-gaap_BusinessCombinationConsiderationTransferred1
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_LicensesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_USCellularSegmentMember		 [2] 16,540us-gaap_BusinessCombinationConsiderationTransferred1
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_LicensesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_USCellularSegmentMember		 [2]              
Licenses 41,707us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedLicenseAgreements
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_LicensesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_USCellularSegmentMember		 16,540us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedLicenseAgreements
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_LicensesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_USCellularSegmentMember		              
U.S. Cellular | License Acquisitions | 700 Mhz Acquisition 1                  
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges                  
Description of acquired entity In August 2012, U.S. Cellular acquired four 700 MHz licenses covering portions of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma for $34.0 million.                
Licenses               34,000us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedLicenseAgreements
/ tds_AcquisitionEventAxis
= tds_AquisitionEvent2Member
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_LicensesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_USCellularSegmentMember		  
U.S. Cellular | License Acquisitions | 700 Mhz Acquisition 2                  
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges                  
Description of acquired entity In November 2012, U.S. Cellular acquired seven 700 MHz licenses covering portions of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin for $57.7 million.                
Licenses                 57,700us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedLicenseAgreements
/ tds_AcquisitionEventAxis
= tds_AquisitionEvent3Member
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_LicensesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_USCellularSegmentMember
TDS Telecom Wireline                  
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges                  
Goodwill 413,794us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomWirelineSegmentMember		 [5] 420,458us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomWirelineSegmentMember		 [5]         420,458us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomWirelineSegmentMember		 [1],[5]    
TDS Telecom Cable                  
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges                  
Goodwill 95,322us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomCableSegmentMember		 61,712us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomCableSegmentMember		              
TDS Telecom Cable | Business Acquisitions                  
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges                  
Weighted average useful life, acquired finite lived intangibles 4 years 7 months 2 years 11 months              
Purchase price 273,789us-gaap_BusinessCombinationConsiderationTransferred1
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomCableSegmentMember		 [2] 264,069us-gaap_BusinessCombinationConsiderationTransferred1
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomCableSegmentMember		 [2]              
Goodwill 33,610us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomCableSegmentMember		 [3] 61,712us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomCableSegmentMember		 [3]              
Licenses 2,703us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedLicenseAgreements
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomCableSegmentMember		                
Franchise rights 120,979us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedFranchiseRights
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomCableSegmentMember		 123,668us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedFranchiseRights
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomCableSegmentMember		              
Intangible assets subject to amortization 14,056us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedIntangibles
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomCableSegmentMember		 [4] 11,542us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedIntangibles
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomCableSegmentMember		 [4]              
Net tangible assets (liabilities) 102,441us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedNet
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomCableSegmentMember		 67,147us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedNet
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomCableSegmentMember		              
TDS Telecom Cable | Business Acquisitions | Baja Broadband, LLC                  
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges                  
Description of acquired entity In August 2013, TDS Telecom acquired substantially all of the assets of Baja for $264.1 million in cash. Baja is a cable company that operates in markets primarily in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah and offers broadband, video and voice services, which complement the TDS Telecom portfolio of products. Baja is included in the Cable segment for reporting purposes.                
Purchase price     264,100us-gaap_BusinessCombinationConsiderationTransferred1
/ tds_AcquisitionEventAxis
= tds_AquisitionEvent1Member
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomCableSegmentMember		            
TDS Telecom Cable | Business Acquisitions | BendBroadband                  
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges                  
Description of acquired entity In September 2014, TDS acquired substantially all of the assets of a group of companies operating as BendBroadband (“Bend”), headquartered in Bend, Oregon for $260.7 million in cash. Bend is a full-service communications company, offering an extensive range of broadband, fiber connectivity, cable television and telephone services for commercial and residential customers in Central Oregon. As part of the agreement, TDS also acquired a Tier III data center providing colocation and managed services and a cable advertising and broadcast business. Bend service offerings complement the current portfolio of products offered through TDS Telecom businesses. Goodwill was recorded due primarily to the expectation of future growth and synergies in Cable segment operations. The operations of the data center are included in the HMS segment. The operations of the cable and the advertising and broadcast businesses are included in the Cable segment.                
Purchase price       260,700us-gaap_BusinessCombinationConsiderationTransferred1
/ tds_AcquisitionEventAxis
= tds_BendBroadbandAcquisitionEventMember
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomCableSegmentMember		          
TDS Telecom HMS                  
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges                  
Goodwill 34,830us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomHostedAndManagedServicesMember		 118,830us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomHostedAndManagedServicesMember		         103,627us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomHostedAndManagedServicesMember		 [1]    
TDS Telecom HMS | Business Acquisitions                  
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges                  
Weighted average useful life, acquired finite lived intangibles   10 years              
Purchase price   43,557us-gaap_BusinessCombinationConsiderationTransferred1
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomHostedAndManagedServicesMember		 [2]              
Goodwill   15,203us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomHostedAndManagedServicesMember		 [3]              
Intangible assets subject to amortization   17,183us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedIntangibles
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomHostedAndManagedServicesMember		 [4]              
Net tangible assets (liabilities)   11,171us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedNet
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomHostedAndManagedServicesMember		              
TDS Telecom HMS | Business Acquisitions | MSN Communications, Inc.                  
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges                  
Voting stock acquired         100.00%us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionPercentageOfVotingInterestsAcquired
/ tds_AcquisitionEventAxis
= tds_Aquisitionevent4Member
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomHostedAndManagedServicesMember		        
Description of acquired entity In October 2013, TDS acquired 100% of the outstanding shares of MSN Communications, Inc. (“MSN”) for $43.6 million in cash. MSN is an information technology solutions provider whose service offerings complement the HMS portfolio of products. MSN is included in the HMS segment for reporting purposes.                
Purchase price         43,600us-gaap_BusinessCombinationConsiderationTransferred1
/ tds_AcquisitionEventAxis
= tds_Aquisitionevent4Member
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomHostedAndManagedServicesMember		        
TDS Telecom HMS | Business Acquisitions | Vital Support Systems, LLC                  
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges                  
Voting stock acquired           100.00%us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionPercentageOfVotingInterestsAcquired
/ tds_AcquisitionEventAxis
= tds_AquisitionEvent5Member
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomHostedAndManagedServicesMember		      
Description of acquired entity In June 2012, TDS paid $46.1 million in cash to purchase 100% of the outstanding shares of Vital Support Systems, LLC (“Vital”). Vital is an information technology solutions provider whose service offerings complement the HMS portfolio of products. Vital is included in the HMS segment for reporting purposes.                
Purchase price           46,100us-gaap_BusinessCombinationConsiderationTransferred1
/ tds_AcquisitionEventAxis
= tds_AquisitionEvent5Member
/ us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis
= tds_BusinessesMember
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_TDSTelecomHostedAndManagedServicesMember		      
Other                  
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges                  
Goodwill   $ 3,802us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_OtherSegmentMember		 [6]         $ 3,802us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= tds_OtherSegmentMember		 [1],[6]    
[1] Includes accumulated impairment losses in prior periods as follows: $333.9 million for U.S. Cellular, $29.4 million for Wireline and $0.5 million for Other.
[2] Cash amounts paid for acquisitions may differ from the purchase price due to cash acquired in the transactions and the timing of cash payments related to the respective transactions.
[3] The entire amount of Goodwill acquired in 2014 and 2013 was amortizable for income tax purposes.
[4] At the date of acquisition, the weighted average amortization period for Intangible Assets Subject to Amortization acquired was as follows: 2014: 4.6 years for TDS Telecom cable business; 2013: 2.9 years for TDS Telecom cable business and 10 years for TDS HMS business
[5] In July 2014, TDS Telecom sold certain Wireline markets.
[6] TDS performed its annual impairment review of Goodwill in the fourth quarter of 2014. Based on the results of this review, TDS concluded that the entire amount of Goodwill related to Suttle-Straus was impaired, which resulted in a $3.8 million loss on impairment.