Acquisition by CenturyLink (Details) (USD $) In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended					1 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011 CenturyLink	Apr. 30, 2011 Acquisition of Qwest CenturyLink	Jun. 30, 2011 Acquisition of Qwest CenturyLink	Dec. 30, 2011 Acquisition of Qwest CenturyLink	Dec. 31, 2012 Acquisition of Qwest CenturyLink	Apr. 02, 2011 Acquisition of Qwest CenturyLink	Apr. 02, 2011 Acquisition of Qwest CenturyLink Customer relationships	Apr. 02, 2011 Acquisition of Qwest CenturyLink Capitalized software	Apr. 02, 2011 Acquisition of Qwest CenturyLink Other intangibles	Apr. 30, 2011 Acquisition of Qwest CenturyLink Restrospective adjustments Change in purchase price allocation item	Apr. 02, 2011 Acquisition of Qwest CenturyLink Restrospective adjustments Change in purchase price allocation	Apr. 02, 2011 Acquisition of Qwest CenturyLink Restrospective adjustments Customer relationships Change in purchase price allocation	Mar. 31, 2011 Acquisition of Qwest CenturyLink Predecessor	Dec. 31, 2011 Acquisition of Qwest CenturyLink Predecessor
Acquisition by CenturyLink
Number of CenturyLink shares that shareholders received for each share of common stock owned							0.1664
Number of shares of common stock issued to consummate acquisition			294,000,000
Closing stock price used to value shares issued for acquisition (in dollars per share)		$ 41.55
Estimated net value of pre-combination portion of share-based compensation awards assumed by acquiring entity							$ 52
Cash payments							5
Assignment of the aggregate consideration
Cash, accounts receivable and other current assets							2,121
Property, plant and equipment							9,529					(25)
Identifiable intangible assets								7,558	1,702	189			(67)
Other noncurrent assets							390
Current liabilities, excluding current maturities of long-term debt							(2,463)
Current maturities of long-term debt							(2,422)					(35)
Long-term debt							(10,253)
Deferred credits and other liabilities							(4,201)					100
Number of lease valuations for which revisions were made											1
Goodwill						10,123	10,123					17
Aggregate consideration							12,273
Fair value assigned to accounts receivable							1,194
Accounts receivable gross contractual value							1,274
Best estimate of contractual cash flows that would not be collected							80
Measurement period	1 year
Expenses related to acquisition
Acquisition related expenses				$ 127	$ 154	$ 47								$ 3	$ 157