Commitments and Contingencies - Narrative Part 2 (Details)					1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			120 Months Ended
	Jun. 05, 2017 USD ($)	May 22, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 23, 2016 USD ($)	Feb. 12, 2015 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2009 item	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) item	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)
Loss contingencies
Unrecognized Tax Benefits						$ 201,693,000	$ 201,162,000	$ 201,693,000	$ 203,053,000	$ 201,162,000	$ 208,328,000
Payment to acquire interest in non-controlling investments in certain entities										11,000,000,000
Total investment							90,381,000			21,000,000,000
Dividend paid to DOC				$ 8,250,000,000				1,500,000,000	8,250,000,000
Litigation expense							(255,000,000)
General and administrative expenses							669,934,000	705,935,000	$ 729,245,000
Other accrued expenses
Loss contingencies
Claim amount		$ 1,200
Litigation expense							$ 41,000,000
Number of potential class members in whose favour judgement is made | item							11,000
Number of potential class members | item							18,000
LightSquared transaction shareholder derivative actions
Loss contingencies
Number of shareholders who filed lawsuits | item							5
Satellite transponder guarantees
Loss contingencies
Guarantees for payments							$ 127,000,000			127,000,000
Technology Development Licensing
Loss contingencies
Number of reexamination petitions pending before patent and trademark office | item					2
Telemarketing Litigation [Member]
Loss contingencies
Demonstration requirements period	5 years
Number of years for which the company will be barred from accepting orders from that independent third-party retailer if the company fails to prove that a particular independent third-party retailer meets the Demonstration Requirements	2 years
Litigation expense							255,000,000	$ 25,000,000
Litigation accrual	$ 280,000,000
Telemarketing Litigation [Member] | Other accrued expenses
Loss contingencies
Litigation accrual							280,000,000			280,000,000
Krakauer Action
Loss contingencies
Litigation expense						$ 20,000,000
Krakauer Action | Other accrued expenses
Loss contingencies
Litigation accrual							$ 61,000,000			61,000,000
Do Not Call Litigation [Member]
Loss contingencies
Number of telemarketing calls | item							51,119
Litigation per call damages							$ 400
Dish Network [Member] | Northstar Wireless or Northstar Spectrum
Loss contingencies
Non-controlling investments							$ 10,000,000,000			$ 10,000,000,000
AWS 3 Auction | Northstar Wireless or Northstar Spectrum | Vermont National Telephone Company
Loss contingencies
Bidding Credit			$ 3,300,000,000
Loss Contingency Recovery Amount			10,000,000,000
AWS 3 Auction | Maximum | Northstar Wireless or Northstar Spectrum | Vermont National Telephone Company
Loss contingencies
Claim amount			11,000
AWS 3 Auction | Minimum | Northstar Wireless or Northstar Spectrum | Vermont National Telephone Company
Loss contingencies
Claim amount			$ 5,500