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Commitments, Contingencies and Other Liabilities, purchase commitments (Details) (Billing And Operational Support System Installation, USD $)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011
Billing And Operational Support System Installation
Long Term Purchase Commitment [Line Items]
Purchase commitment required payments	$ 122,000,000
Purchase commitment required payments made	$ 22,800,000

X

- Definition

The minimum amount the entity agreed to spend under the long-term purchase commitment.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongTermPurchaseCommitmentAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
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.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongTermPurchaseCommitmentLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Payments made to date on the minimum amount the entity agreed to spend under the long-term purchase commitment.

+ Details

Name:	usm_LongTermPurchaseCommitmentAmountPaid
Namespace Prefix:	usm
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration