Commitments and Contingencies (Details) (USD $)	0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Nov. 30, 2009	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Oct. 31, 2007 Convertible Debt [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Maximum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Operating Leases and Rentals [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Operating Leases and Rentals [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Operating Leases and Rentals [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Utility Pole Rental Agreement [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Utility Pole Rental Agreement [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Utility Pole Rental Agreement [Member]
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Lease and rental costs charged to expense								$ 28,000,000	$ 27,000,000	$ 28,000,000	$ 47,000,000	$ 49,000,000	$ 50,000,000
Programming fee term (in years)						3 years	10 years
Programming costs included in statements of operations		2,000,000,000	1,900,000,000	1,800,000,000
Franchise fees and other related costs		176,000,000	174,000,000	178,000,000
Letters of credit, amount		67,000,000
Debt instrument, amount		12,937,000,000	12,821,000,000		479,000,000
Stated interest rate, percentage					6.50%
Liabilities Subject to Compromise, Cash Disbursements and Reclassifications under Bankruptcy Court Orders	$ 168,000,000