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Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2017
Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges [Abstract] |
Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges | Note 5 Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges In February 2016, U.S. Cellular entered into an agreement with a third party to exchange certain 700 MHz licenses for certain AWS and PCS licenses and $28 million of cash. This license exchange was accomplished in two closings. The first closing occurred in the second quarter of 2016, at which time U.S. Cellular received $13 million of cash and recorded a gain of $9 million. The second closing occurred in the first quarter of 2017, at which time U.S. Cellular received $15 million of cash and recorded a gain of $17 million. In July 2016, the FCC announced U.S. Cellular as a qualified bidder in the FCC’s forward auction of 600 MHz spectrum licenses, referred to as Auction 1002. Prior to commencement of the forward auction, U.S. Cellular made an upfront payment to the FCC of $143 million in June 2016 to establish its initial bidding eligibility. In April 2017, the FCC announced by way of public notice that U.S. Cellular was the winning bidder for 188 licenses for an aggregate purchase price of $329 million. U.S. Cellular paid the remaining $186 million to the FCC and was granted the licenses during the second quarter of 2017.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for business combinations, including leverage buyout transactions (as applicable), and divestitures. This may include a description of a business combination or divestiture (or series of individually immaterial business combinations or divestitures) completed during the period, including background, timing, and assets and liabilities recognized and reclassified or sold. This element does not include fixed asset sales and plant closings. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -SubTopic 20 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/subtopic&trid=2122178 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2303972 + Details
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