Severance (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	0 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Apr. 02, 2011 Predecessor	Dec. 31, 2011 Employee severance	Dec. 31, 2013 Employee severance	Dec. 31, 2012 Employee severance	Apr. 02, 2011 Employee severance	Dec. 31, 2011 Employee severance Acquisition of Qwest CenturyLink, Inc.	Mar. 31, 2011 Employee severance Predecessor
Restructuring reserve
Balance at the beginning of the period			$ 7	$ 29	$ 17		$ 28
Accrued to expense		118	10	64		12	3
Payments, net		(97)	(12)	(85)			(11)
Reversals and adjustments		(9)	0	(1)			(1)
Fair value adjustment	(2)
Balance at the end of the period		$ 29	$ 5	$ 7	$ 17		$ 19