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Commitments and Contingencies - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Feb. 22, 2019
Operating Leases, Rent Expense
Rent expense, noncancellable long-term operating lease	$ 189	$ 183	$ 177
Rent expense, cancellable short-term operating lease	$ 12	12	$ 12
Loss Contingency, Estimate [Abstract]
Accrual for legal proceedings and unasserted claims		$ 1
US Cellular
Loss Contingency, Estimate [Abstract]
Percent of bid credit in each auction	25.00%
Subsequent Event
Long-term Purchase Commitment [Line Items]
Commitment to purchase assets				$ 129
Maximum
Loss Contingency, Estimate [Abstract]
Accrual for legal proceedings and unasserted claims	$ 1

X

- Definition

FCC License Auction, Percent of Bid Credit in Each Auction

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	tds_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

This element represents the short term portion of payments that the lessee is not obligated or required to make in connection with a property under the terms of an agreement classified as an operating lease, excluding contingent rentals and a guarantee by the lessee of the lessor's debt and the lessee's obligation to pay (apart from the rental payments) executory costs such as insurance, maintenance, and taxes.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	tds_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

This element represents the long term portion of payments that the lessee is obligated to make or can be required to make in connection with a property under the terms of an agreement classified as an operating lease, excluding contingent rentals and a guarantee by the lessee of the lessor's debt and the lessee's obligation to pay (apart from the rental payments) executory costs such as insurance, maintenance, and taxes.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	tds_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongTermPurchaseCommitmentLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
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Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Amount of loss contingency liability.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 450
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=82911808&loc=d3e14326-108349

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
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Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

X

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
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Period Type:	duration

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- References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Minimum amount of purchase arrangement maturing in the next fiscal year following the latest fiscal year. Includes, but not limited to, recorded and unrecorded purchase obligations, long-term purchase commitments, and short-term purchase commitments.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PurchaseObligationDueInNextTwelveMonths
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

X

- Details

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Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

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Namespace Prefix:
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- Details

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Namespace Prefix:
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