Goodwill and Other Intangibles (Details) (USD $)			9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended								3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 Residential customer list [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Business customer list [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Acquisition of defined assets and liabilities of Verizon Communications Inc. [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises, INC (Commonwealth) [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises, INC (Commonwealth) [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Customer base [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Customer base [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Software licenses [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Software licenses [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Trade name and license [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Trade name and license [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Customer base and trade name [Member] Acquisition of defined assets and liabilities of Verizon Communications Inc. [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Customer base and trade name [Member] Acquisition of defined assets and liabilities of Verizon Communications Inc. [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Customer base and trade name [Member] Acquisition of defined assets and liabilities of Verizon Communications Inc. [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Customer base and trade name [Member] Acquisition of defined assets and liabilities of Verizon Communications Inc. [Member]
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Goodwill	$ 6,337,719,000	$ 6,337,719,000
Other Intangibles [Abstract]
Other intangibles	2,938,067,000	2,937,717,000						2,697,763,000	2,697,413,000	105,019,000	105,019,000	135,285,000	135,285,000
Less: Accumulated amortization	(1,307,102,000)	(973,212,000)
Total other intangibles, net	1,630,965,000	1,964,505,000
Amortization expense						10,200,000	41,100,000							88,500,000	125,200,000	333,900,000	391,000,000
Estimated fair value of intangible assets acquired in the Transaction					$ 2,500,000,000
Estimated useful life			9 years	12 years