Long-Term Debt and Revolving Promissory Note (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended												9 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 Senior notes		Dec. 31, 2011 Senior notes		Sep. 30, 2012 Senior notes Minimum		Sep. 30, 2012 Senior notes Maximum		Sep. 30, 2012 Capital lease and other obligations	Dec. 31, 2011 Capital lease and other obligations	Sep. 30, 2012 Floating rate notes due 2013	Sep. 17, 2012 Floating rate notes due 2013	Jun. 30, 2012 7.00% Notes due 2052	Apr. 30, 2012 7.00% Notes due 2052	Sep. 30, 2012 7.00% Notes due 2052	Jun. 25, 2012 7.00% Notes due 2052	Apr. 02, 2012 7.00% Notes due 2052	Apr. 30, 2012 8.375% Notes due 2016	Apr. 18, 2012 8.375% Notes due 2016	Apr. 30, 2012 7.625% Notes due 2015	Apr. 18, 2012 7.625% Notes due 2015	Jul. 31, 2012 7.5% Notes due 2023	Jul. 20, 2012 7.5% Notes due 2023	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolving promissory note CenturyLink, Inc.
Long-term debt
Interest rate (as a percent)									3.639%	[1]	8.375%	[1]								7.00%	7.00%		8.375%		7.625%		7.50%
Unamortized premiums, net	$ (141)		$ (141)	$ 320
Total long-term debt	7,652		7,652	8,325	7,386	[1]	7,829	[1]					125	176
Less current maturities	(805)		(805)	(64)
LONG-TERM DEBT	6,847		6,847	8,261
Maximum borrowing capacity															750								811		400			1,000
Period to reset interest rates															3 months
Interest rate as of remeasurement date (as a percent)																3.639%
Principal amount of notes issued																	400	525
Amount outstanding																												685
Net proceeds from issuance of debt																	387	508
Redemption price as percentage of principal amount of notes plus accrued interest																			100.00%
Amount of notes redeemed																										484
Principal amount of notes for which tender offers are received and accepted																						575		308
Percentage of principal amount of notes for which tender offer was received and accepted																						71.00%		77.00%
Amount for which cash tender offer is received and accepted																						722		369
Loss on early retirement of debt	$ 1	$ 1	$ 47																					$ 46
Weighted average interest rate (as a percent)																												6.0917%

[1] Our $750 million Notes due 2013 are floating rate notes, with rates that reset every three months. As of the most recent measurement date of September 15, 2012, the rate for these notes was XX%, which is not included in the range of rates stated above.