Commitments and Contingencies - Narrative Part 2 (Details)						1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended		24 Months Ended
	May 22, 2017 $ / item	Sep. 23, 2016 USD ($)	Aug. 18, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 23, 2013 USD ($)	Apr. 29, 2011 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2009 item	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($) item	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 05, 2017 USD ($)	Jan. 19, 2017 item $ / item
Loss contingencies
General and administrative expenses							$ 186,954,000		$ 190,707,000	$ 497,801,000	$ 573,853,000
Litigation expense										(295,695,000)
Vermont National Telephone Company [Member]
Loss contingency terms
Recovery amount		$ 10,000,000,000
Satellite transponder guarantees
Loss contingencies
Guarantees for payments							143,000,000			143,000,000
Litigation accrual							0			$ 0
Technology Development Licensing
Loss contingency terms
Number of reexamination petitions pending before patent and trademark office | item						2
Northstar Wireless or Northstar Spectrum
Loss contingency terms
Percentage Of Bidding Credit										15.00%
Bidding Credit			$ 1,961,000,000
Northstar Wireless or Northstar Spectrum | AWS-3 Licenses [Member]
Loss contingency terms
Percentage Of Bidding Credit		25.00%								25.00%
Northstar Wireless or Northstar Spectrum | AWS-3 Licenses [Member] | Vermont National Telephone Company [Member]
Loss contingency terms
Bidding Credit		$ 3,300,000,000
Northstar Wireless or Northstar Spectrum | AWS-3 Licenses [Member] | Minimum | Vermont National Telephone Company [Member]
Loss contingencies
Claim amount		5,500
Northstar Wireless or Northstar Spectrum | AWS-3 Licenses [Member] | Maximum | Vermont National Telephone Company [Member]
Loss contingencies
Claim amount		$ 11,000
Lightsquared Harbinger Capital Partners LLC
Loss contingency terms
Business days allowed to terminate existing agreements										3 days
LightSquared transaction shareholder derivative actions
Loss contingencies
Number of shareholders who filed lawsuits | item										5
Telemarketing Litigation
Loss contingencies
Period of injunctive relief sought from placing any outbound telemarketing calls to market or promote its goods or services										5 years
Telemarketing Litigation | OHIO
Loss contingencies
Claim amount										$ 10,000,000
Telemarketing Litigation | CALIFORNIA
Loss contingencies
Claim amount from state plaintiff										100,000,000
Telemarketing Litigation | Illinois And North Carolina [Member]
Loss contingencies
Claim Amount Minimum That Would Not Raise Constitutional Concerns										1,000,000,000
Krakauer Action
Loss contingencies
Third party Number Of Calls Made In Case Trebled Damages Per Call | $ / item	1,200
Third Party Number Of Calls Made In Case | item														51,119
Third Party Number Of Calls Made In Case Damages Per Call | $ / item														400
Litigation expense							41,000,000	$ 20,000,000
Krakauer Action | Other Accrued Expense
Loss contingencies
Litigation accrual							61,000,000			61,000,000
TiVo vs Dish Network and EchoStar Corporation | DISH Network
Loss contingencies
Settlement amount awarded to other party					$ 500,000,000
Litigation accrual					$ 200,000,000
DISH Network L.L.C. | Telemarketing Litigation
Loss contingencies
Claim amount				$ 270,000,000
Damages awarded to state and federal plaintiff													$ 280,000,000
Claim amount from state plaintiff										23,500,000,000
Litigation expense							255,000,000					$ 25,000,000
DISH Network L.L.C. | Telemarketing Litigation | Other Accrued Expense
Loss contingencies
Litigation accrual							$ 280,000,000			280,000,000
DISH Network L.L.C. | Telemarketing Litigation | Maximum
Loss contingencies
Claim amount from federal plaintiff										$ 900,000,000