Marketable Investment Securities and Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013 Current marketable investment securities - VRDNs	Dec. 31, 2012 Current marketable investment securities - VRDNs	Sep. 30, 2013 Current marketable investment securities - other	Dec. 31, 2012 Current marketable investment securities - other
Marketable investment securities and restricted cash and cash equivalents:
Current marketable investment securities		$ 3,981,481,000	$ 2,269,670,000	$ 143,665,000	$ 124,007,000	$ 3,837,816,000	$ 2,145,663,000
Restricted marketable investment securities		59,670,000	49,044,000
Total marketable investment securities		4,041,151,000	2,318,714,000
Restricted cash and cash equivalents		23,110,000	72,617,000
Total marketable investment securities and restricted cash and cash equivalents		4,064,261,000	2,391,331,000
Settlement period				5 days
Restricted cash related to litigation released during the period	$ 42,000,000