The total cost of the acquired entity including the cash paid to shareholders of acquired entities, fair value of debt and equity securities issued to shareholders of acquired entities, the fair value of the liabilities assumed, and direct costs of the acquisition.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 141

-Paragraph 51

-Subparagraph d

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionCostOfAcquiredEntityPurchasePrice
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

Acquisitions (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012 Sprint Settlement Agreement	Mar. 09, 2012 TerreStar Networks, Inc. ("TerreStar") Wireless Spectrum	Mar. 31, 2013 DBSD North America and TerreStar Transactions Wireless Spectrum	Mar. 09, 2012 DBSD North America and TerreStar Transactions Wireless Spectrum	Mar. 31, 2012 DBSD North America and TerreStar Transactions Sprint Settlement Agreement Wireless Spectrum	Mar. 09, 2012 DBSD North America (ICO) Wireless Spectrum
Spectrum Investments
Purchase price		$ 1,382		$ 2,860	$ 114	$ 1,364
2 GHz Interim Build-out Requirement (as a percent)			40.00%
2 GHz Final Build-out Requirement (as a percent)			70.00%
Investment in DBSD North America	$ 114