Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited) (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended							9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011 CenturyLink Acquisition of Qwest	Dec. 30, 2011 CenturyLink Acquisition of Qwest	Dec. 31, 2012 CenturyLink Acquisition of Qwest	Mar. 31, 2011 Predecessor	Dec. 31, 2010 Predecessor	Mar. 31, 2011 Predecessor CenturyLink Acquisition of Qwest	Dec. 31, 2011 Predecessor CenturyLink Acquisition of Qwest
Quarterly financial data (unaudited)
Operating revenues	$ 2,856	$ 2,825	$ 2,835	$ 2,840	$ 2,793	$ 2,765	$ 2,769	$ 8,327	$ 11,356					$ 2,846	$ 11,730
Operating income	375	322	291	290	182	223	138	543	1,278					579	2,001
Income tax expense	67	54	27	48	(1)	33		32	196	178				146	505
Net income (loss)	111	83	37	77		32	(13)	19	308					211	(55)
Expenses associated with acquisition											127	154	47			3	157
Severance costs											99
Retention bonuses											14
Share-based compensation expense											11			4	93
System integration consulting expense											$ 1