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Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges, acquisitions (Details)
$ in Thousands
 1 Months Ended 12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014
USD ($)
Oct. 31, 2013
USD ($)
Aug. 31, 2013
USD ($)
Dec. 31, 2015
USD ($)
Dec. 31, 2014
USD ($)
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges          
Federal Communications Commission deposit         $ 60,000
Goodwill       $ 765,792 771,352
Licenses       1,844,348 1,453,574
Franchise rights       $ 244,180 244,300
Baja Broadband, LLC          
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges          
Description of acquired entity       In August 2013, TDS Telecom acquired substantially all of the assets of Baja Broadband, LLC (“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     $ 264,100    
MSN Communications, Inc.          
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges          
Voting stock acquired   100.00%      
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   $ 43,600      
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, headquartered in Bend, Oregon for $260.7 million in cash.  BendBroadband 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.  BendBroadband 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.   
Acquisitions          
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges          
Purchase price [1]       $ 345,807 315,496
Goodwill [2]         33,610
Licenses       $ 345,807 44,410
Franchise rights         120,979
Intangible assets subject to amortization [3]         14,056
Net tangible assets (liabilities)         102,441
U.S. Cellular | Airadigm Communications, Inc.          
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges          
Description of acquired entity       In May 2014, U.S. Cellular entered into a License Purchase and Customer Recommendation Agreement with Airadigm Communications Inc. (“Airadigm”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of TDS.  In September 2014, pursuant to the License Purchase and Customer Recommendation Agreement, Airadigm transferred FCC spectrum licenses and certain tower assets in certain markets in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Michigan, to U.S. Cellular for $91.5 million in cash (the “Airadigm Transaction”).  Since both parties to this transaction are controlled by TDS, upon closing, U.S. Cellular recorded the transferred assets at Airadigm’s net book value of $15.2 million.  
Purchase price $ 91,500        
Book value of transferred assets 15,200        
U.S. Cellular | Auction 97          
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges          
Description of acquired entity       U.S. Cellular participated in Auction 97 indirectly through its limited partnership interest in Advantage Spectrum. Advantage Spectrum was the provisional winning bidder for 124 licenses for an aggregate winning bid of $338.3 million, after its expected designated entity discount of 25%. Advantage Spectrum’s bid amount, less the upfront payment of $60.0 million paid in 2014, was paid to the FCC in March 2015. These licenses have not yet been granted by the FCC. See Note 14 — Variable Interest Entities for additional information.  
U.S. Cellular | License Acquisitions          
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges          
Purchase price [1]       $ 345,807 [4] 41,707
Licenses       $ 345,807 [4] 41,707
U.S. Cellular | License Acquisitions | Auction 97          
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges          
Description of acquired entity       U.S. Cellular participated in Auction 97 indirectly through its limited partnership interest in Advantage Spectrum. Advantage Spectrum was the provisional winning bidder for 124 licenses for an aggregate winning bid of $338.3 million, after its expected designated entity discount of 25%. Advantage Spectrum’s bid amount, less the upfront payment of $60.0 million paid in 2014, was paid to the FCC in March 2015. These licenses have not yet been granted by the FCC. See Note 14 — Variable Interest Entities for additional information.  
Federal Communications Commission deposit         60,000
Licenses won       124  
Total winning bid       $ 338,300  
Designated entity auction discount       25.00%  
TDS Telecom Cable | Business Acquisitions          
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges          
Purchase price [1]         273,789
Goodwill [2]         33,610
Licenses         2,703
Franchise rights         120,979
Intangible assets subject to amortization [3]         14,056
Net tangible assets (liabilities)         $ 102,441
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, headquartered in Bend, Oregon for $260.7 million in cash.  BendBroadband 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.  BendBroadband 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 $ 260,700        
TDS Telecom HMS | Business Acquisitions          
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges          
Weighted average useful life, acquired finite lived intangibles         10 years
[1] 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.
[2] The entire amount of Goodwill acquired in 2014 was amortizable for income tax purposes.
[3] In 2014, at the date of acquisition, the weighted average amortization period for Intangible Assets Subject to Amortization acquired was 4.6 years for TDS Telecom's cable business.
[4] Includes purchases totaling $338.3 million made by Advantage Spectrum from the FCC for licenses in Auction 97. These licenses have not yet been granted by the FCC.