Acquisitions (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended					3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2008	Mar. 31, 2012 Wireless Spectrum Assets	Mar. 31, 2012 Sprint Settlement Agreement	Mar. 09, 2012 Sprint Settlement Agreement	Mar. 09, 2012 DBSD North America (ICO)	Dec. 31, 2011 DBSD North America (ICO)	Mar. 31, 2012 DBSD North America (ICO) 7.5% Convertible Senior Secured Notes due 2009	Dec. 31, 2011 DBSD North America (ICO) 7.5% Convertible Senior Secured Notes due 2009	Feb. 28, 2012 DBSD North America (ICO) Investment Agreement	Mar. 09, 2012 TerreStar Networks, Inc. ("TerreStar")
Spectrum Investments
Payment to acquire certain 700 MHz wireless licenses				$ 712,000,000
Payments to acquire wireless spectrum assets	2,860,000,000
Purchase price							114,000,000	1,364,000,000				1,400,000,000	1,382,000,000
Investment in DBSD North America (Note 8)			1,297,614,000			114,000,000			1,298,000,000		839,000,000
Net purchase price	2,859,648,000
Cash purchase price paid										2,761,000,000
Gain on conversion of senior secured notes										99,000,000
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	55,430,000		82,043,000							78,000,000
Revenue	3,581,869,000	3,224,131,000	3,224,131,000		1,000,000
Operating expenses					$ 8,000,000