Goodwill and Other Intangibles (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets by Segment [Line Items]
Goodwill	$ 6,337,719,000		$ 6,337,719,000
Other Intangibles:
Other intangibles	2,656,803,000		2,657,086,000
Less: Accumulated amortization	(1,200,847,000)		(1,114,347,000)
Total other intangibles, net	1,455,956,000		1,542,739,000
Amortization expense	87,000,000	147,000,000
Frontier Legacy Properties [Member]
Other Intangibles:
Amortization expense		10,500,000
Customer base [Member]
Other Intangibles:
Other intangibles	2,427,648,000		2,427,648,000
Customer base [Member] | Residential customer list [Member]
Other Intangibles:
Estimated useful life	9 years
Customer base [Member] | Business customer list [Member]
Other Intangibles:
Estimated useful life	12 years
Software licenses [Member]
Other Intangibles:
Other intangibles	105,019,000		105,019,000
Amortization expense		38,300,000
Trade name and license [Member]
Other Intangibles:
Other intangibles	124,136,000		124,419,000
East [Member]
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets by Segment [Line Items]
Goodwill	2,003,574,000
West [Member]
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets by Segment [Line Items]
Goodwill	1,300,534,000
Central [Member]
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets by Segment [Line Items]
Goodwill	1,815,498,000
National [Member]
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets by Segment [Line Items]
Goodwill	$ 1,218,113,000