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Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges, acquisitions (Details) (USD $)
 12 Months Ended 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Dec. 31, 2011
Businesses
May 08, 2011
Businesses
Dec. 31, 2012
Licenses
Dec. 31, 2011
Licenses
Dec. 31, 2012
Licenses
700 MHz Agreement 1
Dec. 31, 2012
Licenses
700 MHz Agreement 2
Acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges              
Licenses $ 19,998,000 $ 15,592,000 [1],[2]   $ 122,690,000 $ 4,406,000 $ 34,000,000 $ 57,700,000
Intangible assets subject to amortization 2,252,000 [3] 2,252,000 [1],[2],[3]          
Net tangible assets (liabilities) 6,728,000 6,728,000 [1],[2]          
Purchase price 28,978,000 [4] 24,572,000 [1],[2],[4]   122,690,000 [4] 4,406,000 [4]    
Date of acquisition   May 09, 2011       Aug. 15, 2012 Nov. 20, 2012
Acquisition agreement description           On August 15, 2012, U.S. Cellular acquired four 700 MHz licenses covering portions of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma for $34.0 million. On November 20, 2012, U.S. Cellular acquired seven 700 MHz licenses covering portions of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin for $57.7 million.
Cash paid to acquire   24,600,000          
Description of acquired entity   On May 9, 2011, pursuant to certain required terms of the partnership agreement, U.S. Cellular paid $24.6 million in cash to purchase the remaining ownership interest in this wireless market in which it previously held a 49% noncontrolling interest. In connection with the acquisition of the remaining interest, a $13.4 million gain was recorded to adjust the carrying value of this 49% investment to its fair value of $25.7 million based on an income approach valuation method.  The gain was recorded in Gain (loss) on investment in the Consolidated Statement of Operations in 2011.       On August 15, 2012, U.S. Cellular acquired four 700 MHz licenses covering portions of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma for $34.0 million. On November 20, 2012, U.S. Cellular acquired seven 700 MHz licenses covering portions of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin for $57.7 million.
Fair value equity investment prior to acquisition     25,700,000        
Gain on investment, equity investment remeasurement   $ 13,400,000          
Ownership interest in equity method investment     49.00%        
Valuation technique, noncontrolling interest of acquired entity   an income approach valuation method          
[1] Includes only the acquired interest and does not include amounts attributable to U.S. Cellular’s pre-existing noncontrolling interest described above in this Note 7.
[2] Licenses, Intangible assets subject to amortization and a portion of Net tangible assets (liabilities) are included in amounts reported as Assets held for sale in the Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2011.
[3] Intangible assets subject to amortization acquired in 2011 are classified as Assets held for sale and as a result are not amortized.
[4] 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.