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Debt (Table) | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2011
Debt Disclosure [Abstract] |
Revolving credit facilities |
(Dollars in millions) |  |
Maximum borrowing capacity | $ | 300.0 |
Letters of credit outstanding | $ | 0.2 |
Amount borrowed | $ | — |
Amount available for use | $ | 299.8 |
Fees on borrowing capacity, rate |  | 0.41 | %
Borrowing rate: One-month London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") plus contractual spread (1) |  | 0.50 | %
| LIBOR |  | 0.30 | %
| Contractual spread |  | 0.20 | %
Range of commitment fees (2) |  |  |
| Low |  | 0.20 | %
| High |  | 0.45 | %
Fees recognized |  |  |
| 2011 | $ | 1.2 |
| 2010 | $ | 3.8 |
| 2009 | $ | 5.9 |
Agreement date | December 2010 |
Maturity date | December 2015 |
Borrowings under the revolving credit facility bear interest at LIBOR plus a contractual spread based on U.S. Cellular's credit rating or, at U.S. Cellular's option, an alternate “Base Rate” as defined in the revolving credit agreement. U.S. Cellular may select a borrowing period of either one, two, three or six months (or other period of twelve months or less if requested by U.S. Cellular and approved by the lenders). If U.S. Cellular provides notice of intent to borrow less than three business days in advance of a borrowing, interest on borrowing is at the Base Rate plus the contractual spread. The revolving credit facility has commitment fees based on the unsecured senior debt ratings assigned to U.S. Cellular by certain ratings agencies.
Long term debt |
December 31, |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2011 |  | 2010
(Dollars in thousands) |  | Issuance date |  | Maturity date |  | Call date (1) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  | Unsecured Senior Notes (2) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  | 6.7% |  | December 2003 and June 2004 |  | December 2033 |  | December 2003 |  | $ | 544,000 |  |  | $ | 544,000 |
|  |  | Less: 6.7% Unamortized discount |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | (9,889 | ) |  |  | (10,343 | )
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 534,111 |  |  |  | 533,657 |
|  |  | 6.95% (3) |  | May 2011 |  | May 2060 |  | May 2016 |  |  | 342,000 |  |  |  | — |
|  |  | 7.5% (4) |  | June 2004 |  | June 2034 |  | June 2009 |  |  | — |  |  |  | 330,000 |
|  | Obligation on capital leases |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 4,336 |  |  |  | 4,385 |
Total long-term debt |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 880,447 |  |  |  | 868,042 |
Less: Current portion of long-term debt |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 127 |  |  |  | 101 |
Total long-term debt, excluding current portion |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ | 880,320 |  |  | $ | 867,941 |
U.S. Cellular may redeem the 6.95% Senior Notes, in whole or in part at any time after the call date, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount redeemed plus accrued and unpaid interest. U.S. Cellular may redeem the 6.7% Senior Notes, in whole or in part, at any time prior to maturity at a redemption price equal to the greater of (a) 100% of the principal amount of such notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest, or (b) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest thereon discounted to the redemption date on a semi-annual basis at the Treasury Rate plus 30 basis points. Interest on the 6.7% Senior Notes is payable semi-annually, and on the 6.95% Senior Notes is payable quarterly. Capitalized debt issuance costs totaled $11.0 million and are being amortized over the life of the notes. Such issuance costs are included in Other assets and deferred charges. On June 20, 2011, U.S. Cellular used substantially all of the net proceeds from the issuance of the 6.95% Senior Notes to redeem $330 million (the entire outstanding amount) of its unsecured 7.5% Senior Notes at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date. This redemption required U.S. Cellular to write-off to interest expense $8.2 million of previously capitalized debt issuance costs related to the 7.5% Senior Notes in 2011.

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- Definition Tabular disclosure of long-debt instruments or arrangements, including identification, terms, features, collateral requirements and other information necessary to a fair presentation. These are debt arrangements that originally required repayment more than twelve months after issuance or greater than the normal operating cycle of the entity, if longer. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 505 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 8 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6928386&loc=d3e21538-112644 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.4-08.(e),(f)) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6881521&loc=d3e23780-122690 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 835 -SubTopic 30 -Section 45 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6451184&loc=d3e28551-108399 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 942 -SubTopic 470 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6479336&loc=d3e64711-112823 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 835 -SubTopic 30 -Section 45 -Paragraph 1A -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6451184&loc=d3e28541-108399 Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 835 -SubTopic 30 -Section 55 -Paragraph 8 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6584090&loc=d3e28878-108400 Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Section 02 -Paragraph 22 -Article 5 Reference 8: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 505 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 7 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6928386&loc=d3e21521-112644 Reference 9: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682 Reference 10: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 505 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6928386&loc=d3e21475-112644 Reference 11: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 505 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 6 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6928386&loc=d3e21506-112644 + Details
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- Definition Tabular disclosure of short-term or long-term contractual arrangements with lenders, including letters of credit, standby letters of credit, and revolving credit arrangements, under which borrowings can be made up to maximum amount as of any point in time conditional on satisfaction of specified terms before, as of and after the date of drawdowns on the line. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.19(b),22(b)) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Article 4 -Section 08 -Paragraph f Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Section 02 -Paragraph 19, 22 -Article 5 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.4-08.(e),(f)) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6881521&loc=d3e23780-122690 + Details
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