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Intangible Assets (Details) (USD $)
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Licenses  
Balance, beginning of period $ 1,443,438us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsExcludingGoodwill
Acquisitions 339,657us-gaap_IndefinitelivedIntangibleAssetsAcquired [1]
Exchanges 43,485usm_IncreaseDecreaseLicensesExchange [2]
Other 522usm_IndefiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsOtherChanges
Balance, end of period $ 1,827,102us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsExcludingGoodwill
[1] Amount includes payments totaling $338.3 million made by Advantage Spectrum to the FCC for licenses in which it was the provisional winning bidder in Auction 97. See Note 6 — Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges, and Note 9 — Variable Interest Entities (VIEs) for further information.
[2] Amount represents licenses received in the PCS license exchange. See Note 6 — Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges for further information. Licenses disposed of in the exchange were previously removed from the License balance and reflected in Assets held for sale in the Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2014.