Employee Benefits (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011 CenturyLink, Inc. and Qwest Communications International Inc. [Domain]	Dec. 31, 2013 CenturyLink, Inc. and Qwest Communications International Inc. [Domain]	Dec. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. and Qwest Communications International Inc. [Domain]	Dec. 31, 2011 Pension Plan QCII	Dec. 31, 2013 Pension Plan QCII	Dec. 31, 2012 Pension Plan QCII	Dec. 31, 2011 Post-Retirement Benefit Plan CenturyLink, Inc.	Dec. 31, 2013 Post-Retirement Benefit Plan CenturyLink, Inc.	Dec. 31, 2012 Post-Retirement Benefit Plan CenturyLink, Inc.	Mar. 31, 2011 Predecessor QCII	Mar. 31, 2011 Predecessor Pension Plan QCII	Mar. 31, 2011 Predecessor Post-Retirement Benefit Plan QCII	Dec. 31, 2013 Employees covered under collective bargaining agreements Employee
Employee Benefits
Unfunded status					$ (159)	$ 948		$ 3,153	$ (3,448)
Pension (income) expense				(51)	(178)	(117)					11
Other postretirement benefit expense							$ 84	$ 88	$ 106			$ 16
Percentage of allocated portion of QCII's total pension and post-retirement benefit expenses (as a percent)	96.00%	91.00%	91.00%							102.00%
Collective bargaining agreements, term													4 years
Collective Bargaining Arrangement, Number of Participating Employees													12,000