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Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges, acquisitions (Details) (USD $) |  |  |  |  | 9 Months Ended
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Sep. 30, 2012 | Sep. 30, 2011 | Sep. 30, 2011 Businesses | Sep. 30, 2012 Licenses | Sep. 30, 2011 Licenses | Sep. 30, 2012 Licenses 700 MHz Agreement 1 | Sep. 30, 2012 Licenses 700 MHz Agreement 2
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Licenses | $ 57,957,000 |  | $ 19,998,000 |  | $ 15,592,000 |  | $ 57,957,000 |  | $ 4,406,000 |  | $ 34,000,000 |
Intangible assets subject to amortization |  |  | 2,252,000 |  | 2,252,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Net tangible assets (liabilities) |  |  | 6,728,000 |  | 6,728,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Purchase price | 57,957,000 | [1] | 28,978,000 | [1] | 24,572,000 | [1] | 57,957,000 | [1] | 4,406,000 | [1] |  |
Date of acquisition agreement |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2012-06-19
Date of acquisition |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2012-08-15 |
License acquisition agreement amount |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ 57,700,000
Acquisition agreement description |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | On June 19, 2012, U.S. Cellular entered into an agreement to acquire seven 700 MHz licenses covering portions of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin for $57.7 million. The acquisition requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) and, if approved, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Description of acquired entity |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | On August 15, 2012, U.S. Cellular acquired four 700 MHz licenses covering portions of Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma for $34.0 million. |
[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.

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- Definition The aggregate amount assigned to a major class of finite-lived intangible assets acquired either individually or as part of a group of assets (in either an asset acquisition or business combination). A major class is composed of intangible assets that can be grouped together because they are similar, either by their nature or by their use in the operations of a company. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 142 -Paragraph 44 -Subparagraph a(1) -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (a)(1) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6905858&loc=d3e16265-109275 + Details
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- Definition The aggregate cost of a major indefinite-lived intangible asset class acquired, during the period, either individually or as part of a group of assets (in either an asset acquisition or business combination). + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 142 -Paragraph 44 -Subparagraph b -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6905858&loc=d3e16265-109275 + Details
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- Definition Month, day and year when the business acquisition agreement was executed. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition With respect to a business combination completed during the period, this element provides a description of the business, other than the name, which may include the industry, size, products and other important information. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 141 -Paragraph 51 -Subparagraph a -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 141R -Paragraph 68 -Subparagraph a -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (a) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6909870&loc=d3e1392-128463 + Details
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- Definition Month, date and year in which the acquirer obtains control of the acquiree. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 10 -Section 25 -Paragraph 7 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6909708&loc=d3e848-128460 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6909870&loc=d3e1392-128463 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 141R -Paragraph 3 -Subparagraph c -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 10 -Section 25 -Paragraph 6 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6909708&loc=d3e845-128460 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 141R -Paragraph 10, 11 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 141R -Paragraph 68 -Subparagraph b -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Glossary Acquisition Date -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6919109 + Details
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- Definition The total purchase price of the acquired entity. This includes cash paid to equity interest holders of the acquired entity, fair value of debt and equity securities issued to equity holders of the acquired entity, and transaction costs paid to third parties to consummate the acquisition. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 141 -Paragraph 51 -Subparagraph d -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 141 -Paragraph 35 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. + Details
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- Definition This element represents the acquisition-date fair value of the total consideration transferred which consists of the sum of the acquisition-date fair values of the assets transferred by the acquirer, the liabilities incurred by the acquirer to former owners of the acquiree, and the equity interests issued by the acquirer. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6911361&loc=d3e6927-128479 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 30 -Section 30 -Paragraph 7 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6911251&loc=d3e6578-128477 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 141R -Paragraph 39, 40 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 141R -Paragraph 68 -Subparagraph f -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 30 -Section 30 -Paragraph 8 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6911251&loc=d3e6613-128477 + Details
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- Definition This element represents a description of an acquisition agreement which may consist of reasons for the acquisition, a description or location of the asset or business to be acquired, expected closing date and other detailed factors that might apply. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Amount of agreement to acquire an indefinite-lived intangible asset, either individually or as part of a group. + References No definition available. + Details
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