Property, Plant and Equipment (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified							12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012 Land	Dec. 31, 2011 Land	Dec. 31, 2012 Fiber, conduit and other outside plant	Dec. 31, 2011 Fiber, conduit and other outside plant	Dec. 31, 2012 Fiber, conduit and other outside plant Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Fiber, conduit and other outside plant Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 Central office and other network electronics	Dec. 31, 2011 Central office and other network electronics	Dec. 31, 2012 Central office and other network electronics Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Central office and other network electronics Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 Support assets	Dec. 31, 2011 Support assets	Dec. 31, 2012 Support assets Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Support assets Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 Construction in progress	Dec. 31, 2011 Construction in progress
Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment	$ 9,242	$ 8,420	$ 356	$ 368	$ 3,475	$ 3,247			$ 2,611	$ 2,155			$ 2,428	$ 2,449			$ 372	$ 201
Accumulated depreciation	(2,011)	(914)
Net property, plant and equipment	$ 7,231	$ 7,506
Depreciable Lives							15 years	45 years			5 years	10 years			5 years	30 years