Property, Plant and Equipment - Change in ARO (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Asset Retirement Obligation
Balance at beginning of year	$ 115	$ 95	$ 91
Accretion expense	10	6	6
Liabilities settled	(14)	(3)	(2)
Change in estimate	21	(8)	0
Balance at end of year	190	115	95
Colocation Business and Data Centers
Asset Retirement Obligation
Liabilities settled	0	(20)	0
Level 3 Communications, Inc.
Asset Retirement Obligation
Liabilities assumed in acquisition of Level 3	$ 58	$ 45	$ 0

The carrying amount of a liability for an asset retirement obligation. An asset retirement obligation is a legal obligation associated with the disposal or retirement of a tangible long-lived asset that results from the acquisition, construction or development, or the normal operations of a long-lived asset, except for certain obligations of lessees.

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- Definition

Amount of accretion expense recognized during the period that is associated with an asset retirement obligation. Accretion expense measures and incorporates changes due to the passage of time into the carrying amount of the liability.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 410
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (c)(3)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6392692&loc=d3e7535-110849

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 410
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6392676&loc=d3e7480-110848

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- Definition

Amount of asset retirement obligations incurred during the period.

+ References

+ Details

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- Definition

Amount of asset retirement obligations settled, or otherwise disposed of, during the period. This may include asset retirement obligations transferred to third parties associated with the sale of a long-lived asset.

+ References

+ Details

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- Definition

Amount of increase (decrease) in the asset retirement obligation from changes in the amount or timing of the estimated cash flows associated with the settlement of the obligation.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 410
-SubTopic 20
-Section 35
-Paragraph 8
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6392603&loc=d3e7123-110846

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 410
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (c)(4)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6392692&loc=d3e7535-110849

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- Definition

A roll forward is a reconciliation of a concept from the beginning of a period to the end of a period.

+ References

No definition available.

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