Commitments and Contingencies (Details) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended			24 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2007 William Douglas Fulghum, et al. v. Embarq Corporation USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2010 Pending litigation related to Federal Communications Act lawsuit	Dec. 31, 2009 Pending litigation related to Federal Communications Act USD ($) lawsuit	Sep. 30, 2010 KPNQwest EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2012 KPNQwest USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 KPNQwest lawsuit	Sep. 30, 2006 Cargill Financial Markets, Plc and Citibank, N.A. EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2012 Cargill Financial Markets, Plc and Citibank, N.A. USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Abbott et al. v. Sprint Nextel et al. plaintiff	Dec. 31, 2012 Fiber-optic cable installation Qwest state item
Commitments and Contingencies
Number of lawsuits filed						2			2
Charges claimed against Sprint Nextel						$ 34
Number of claims with favorable ruling					1
Effect of modifications made to Embarq's benefits program, greater than				300
Number of plaintiffs have alleged breach of fiduciary duty												1,500
Litigation Matters Assumed in Qwest Acquisition
Damages sought by plaintiff							4,200	5,600		219	289
Number of states in which service is provided													34
Number of action pending before the Illinois Court of Appeals to be brought on behalf of landowner in Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin													1
Number of states in which final approval of settlements received													22
Number of states in which preliminary approval of settlements were received													8
Number of states in which preliminary or final approval of settlements have not yet been received													4
Capital lease activity
Assets acquired through capital leases	209	696
Depreciation expense	150	89
Cash payments towards capital leases	113	76
Assets included in property, plant and equipment	893	698
Accumulated depreciation	229	91
Future annual minimum payments under capital lease arrangements
2013	155
2014	143
2015	107
2016	72
2017	68
2018 and thereafter	381
Total minimum payments	926
Less: amount representing interest and executory costs	(245)
Present value of minimum payments	681
Less: current portion	(117)
Long-term portion	564
Operating Leases
Rent expense	445	401	174
Sublease rental income	18	17
Future rental commitments
2013	297
2014	252
2015	219
2016	183
2017	156
2018 and thereafter	964
Total future minimum payments	2,071
Minimum sublease rentals due in the future under non-cancelable subleases	115
Purchase obligations
Total purchase commitments	524
2013	213
2014 and 2015	129
2016 and 2017	86
2018 and thereafter	$ 96