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Organization and Business Operations
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12 Months Ended |
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Dec. 31, 2011
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| Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] | |
| Organization and Business Operations | Organization and Business Operations: MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (“MetroPCS”), a Delaware corporation, together with its consolidated subsidiaries (the “Company”), is a wireless telecommunications carrier that offers wireless broadband mobile services in selected major metropolitan areas in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, the Company offered services primarily in the metropolitan areas of Atlanta, Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando/Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco and Tampa/Sarasota. The Company sells products and services to customers through Company-owned retail stores as well as through relationships with independent retailers. On November 24, 2004, MetroPCS, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, and C9 Wireless, LLC, an independent third-party, formed Royal Street Communications, LLC (“Royal Street Communications”), to bid on spectrum auctioned by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) in Auction 58. The Company owned 85% of the limited liability company member interest of Royal Street Communications through December 22, 2010, when MetroPCS completed the acquisition of the remaining 15% limited liability company member interest in Royal Street Communications for total consideration of $9.8 million, resulting in Royal Street Communications and its wholly-owned subsidiaries becoming wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company. Prior to the acquisition of the remaining membership interest, the Company consolidated its interest in Royal Street in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 810 (Topic 810, “Consolidation”). Royal Street qualified as a variable interest entity under ASC 810 because the Company was the primary beneficiary of Royal Street and absorbed all of Royal Street's losses. All intercompany accounts and transactions between the Company and Royal Street have been eliminated in the consolidated financial statements. |