Segments and Operations by Geographic Area Segments and Operations by Geographic Area (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended				3 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	12 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	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2012 Pending Litigation [Member] Sintel [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 EC Source [Member]	Nov. 30, 2010 E C Source Services Llc Investee [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Reportable Segment [Member] Communications [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Reportable Segment [Member] Communications [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Reportable Segment [Member] Communications [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Foreign Operation [Member] Reportable Geographical Components [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Foreign Operation [Member] Reportable Geographical Components [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Segment, Continuing Operations [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Segment, Continuing Operations [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Segment, Continuing Operations [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Segment, Continuing Operations [Member] Foreign Operation [Member] Reportable Geographical Components [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Segment, Continuing Operations [Member] Foreign Operation [Member] Reportable Geographical Components [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Segment, Continuing Operations [Member] Foreign Operation [Member] Reportable Geographical Components [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Segment, Continuing Operations [Member] UNITED STATES Reportable Geographical Components [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Segment, Continuing Operations [Member] UNITED STATES Reportable Geographical Components [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Segment, Continuing Operations [Member] UNITED STATES Reportable Geographical Components [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Segment, Discontinued Operations [Member] Foreign Operation [Member] Reportable Geographical Components [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Segment, Discontinued Operations [Member] Foreign Operation [Member] Reportable Geographical Components [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Segment, Discontinued Operations [Member] Foreign Operation [Member] Reportable Geographical Components [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Segment, Discontinued Operations [Member] UNITED STATES Reportable Geographical Components [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Segment, Discontinued Operations [Member] UNITED STATES Reportable Geographical Components [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Segment, Discontinued Operations [Member] UNITED STATES Reportable Geographical Components [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Sales Revenue, Services, Net [Member] Utilities [Member] Segment, Continuing Operations [Member] Reportable Segment [Member] Communications [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Sales Revenue, Services, Net [Member] Utilities [Member] Segment, Continuing Operations [Member] Reportable Segment [Member] Communications [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Sales Revenue, Services, Net [Member] Utilities [Member] Segment, Continuing Operations [Member] Reportable Segment [Member] Communications [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of reportable segments									5
Pending or threatened litigation, estimated loss												$ 9,600,000
Gain on remeasurement of equity interest in acquiree									0	29,041,000	0		29,000,000
Payments to acquire equity method investments									0	0	10,854,000			10,000,000
Entity-wide revenue by customer type, percentage																																			8.00%	9.00%	11.00%
Revenue	932,300,000	1,067,300,000	988,900,000	738,300,000	731,600,000	816,200,000	709,900,000	573,600,000	3,726,789,000	2,831,292,000	2,143,024,000				1,772,700,000	1,635,100,000	1,190,600,000			3,726,800,000	2,831,300,000	2,143,000,000	156,800,000	91,500,000	200,000	3,570,000,000	2,739,800,000	2,100,000,000	5,800,000	12,400,000	2,700,000	73,100,000	165,300,000	162,300,000
Property and equipment, net	350,355,000				263,007,000				350,355,000	263,007,000								12,900,000	12,700,000										1,500,000	1,600,000
Goodwill and other intangible assets, net	$ 957,441,000				$ 825,467,000				$ 957,441,000	$ 825,467,000	$ 596,500,000							$ 30,500,000	$ 30,000,000										$ 0	$ 0