Business Combination, Condition of Closing, Acquiree Capital Distribution

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount of increase (decrease) in additional paid in capital resulting from the recapitalization and extinguishment of outstanding debt with affiliate.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	tmo_BusinessCombinationsAdjustmentstoAdditionalPaidinCapitalRecapitalizationofAffiliateDebtDebtExtinguishment
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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of increase (decrease) in additional paid in capital resulting from the recapitalization and issuance of new notes with affiliate.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	tmo_BusinessCombinationsAdjustmentstoAdditionalPaidinCapitalRecapitalizationofAffiliateDebtIssuanceofNotes
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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
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- Details

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- Definition

Percentage of voting equity interests acquired at the acquisition date in the business combination.

+ References

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

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 805

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (c)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=25497992&loc=d3e1392-128463

+ Details

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Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Costs incurred to effect a business combination which have been expensed during the period. Such costs could include business integration costs, systems integration and conversion costs, and severance and other employee-related costs.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationIntegrationRelatedCosts
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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
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- Definition

Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.

+ References

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

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.19(b),22(b))

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 02

-Paragraph 19, 22

-Article 5

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Transaction with MetroPCS (Transaction Overview) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	0 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Apr. 30, 2013 MetroPCS [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 MetroPCS [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 MetroPCS [Member]	Apr. 30, 2013 Deutsche Telekom [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
MetroPCS transaction-related costs	$ 26,000,000	$ 0	$ 39,000,000	$ 0		$ 26,000,000	$ 39,000,000
Retirement of notes payable to affiliates								14,450,000,000
Issuance of new notes payable to affiliates								(11,200,000,000)
Line of credit, affiliate, maximum borrowing capacity								500,000,000
Distribution to affiliate					$ 1,500,000,000
Percentage of voting interests acquired by Deutsche Telekom					74.00%