Commitments and Contingencies (Details) (USD $)	9 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		0 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Oct. 02, 2013 LightSquared LP Entities LBAC	Oct. 02, 2013 LightSquared LP Entities LBAC Maximum	Oct. 29, 2013 Dish Network	Sep. 30, 2013 Dish Network	Dec. 31, 2008 Dish Network	Sep. 29, 2013 Dish Network Wireless Spectrum	Mar. 09, 2012 Dish Network DBSD North America and TerreStar Transactions Wireless Spectrum	Sep. 30, 2013 Dish Network DBSD North America and TerreStar Transactions Wireless Spectrum	Mar. 09, 2012 Dish Network DBSD North America	Jul. 23, 2013 Dish Network LightSquared LP Entities Proposed asset purchase agreement
Spectrum Investments
Percentage of equity acquired										100.00%
Purchase price								$ 2,860,000,000			$ 2,220,000,000
Payment to acquire certain 700 MHz wireless licenses						712,000,000
AWS-4 Interim Build-Out Requirement (as a percent)									40.00%
AWS-4 Final Build-Out Requirement (as a percent)									70.00%
700 MHz Interim Build-Out Requirement (as a percent)					35.00%
700 MHz Final Build-Out Requirement (as a percent)					70.00%
Modified 700 MHz Interim Build-Out Requirement (as a percent)				40.00%
Modified 700 MHz Final Build-Out Requirement (as a percent)				70.00%
Accelerated period to meet Modified 700 MHz Build-Out Requirement on failure to meet Modified 700 MHz Interim Build-Out Requirement				1 year
Extension term of AWS-4 Final Build-Out Requirement							1 year
Accelerated period to meet Final Build-Out Requirement on failure to meet Interim Build-Out Requirement									1 year
Minimum period for approval prior to the commencement of planned H Block auction	30 days
Maximum bid price per MHz/POP (in dollars per unit)							0.50
Aggregate bid price							1,560,000,000
Payments to be made for break up fee		52,000,000
Amount to be reimbursed on confirmation of the order issued by Bankruptcy Court as a qualified bidder, if the subsidiary is not successful bidder at auction			$ 2,000,000