Severance and Leased Real Estate (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Severance
Restructuring reserve
Balance at the beginning of the period	$ 26	$ 17
Accrued to expense	96	87
Payments, net	(108)	(78)
Reversals and adjustments	0	0
Balance at the end of the period	14	26
Qwest Communications International Inc \| Leased real estate
Severance and Leased Real Estate
Current portion of leased real estate accrual	9
Noncurrent portion of leased real estate accrual	$ 71
Weighted average lease terms (in years)	8 years
Restructuring reserve
Balance at the beginning of the period	$ 96	113
Accrued to expense	0	1
Payments, net	(13)	(16)
Reversals and adjustments	3	(2)
Balance at the end of the period	$ 80	$ 96
Qwest Communications International Inc \| Leased real estate \| Minimum
Severance and Leased Real Estate
Remaining lease terms	4 months
Qwest Communications International Inc \| Leased real estate \| Maximum
Severance and Leased Real Estate
Remaining lease terms	10 years

Represents the remaining lease term.

No definition available.

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Weighted average term of remaining leases assumed in connection with an acquisition.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount of cash payments made as the result of exit or disposal activities. Excludes payments associated with a discontinued operation or an asset retirement obligation.

+ References

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- Definition

Amount of expenses associated with exit or disposal activities pursuant to an authorized plan. Excludes expenses related to a discontinued operation or an asset retirement obligation.

+ References

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Carrying amount (including both current and noncurrent portions of the accrual) as of the balance sheet date pertaining to a specified type of cost associated with exit from or disposal of business activities or restructuring pursuant to a duly authorized plan.

+ References

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- Definition

Amount of (expense) reversal of expense related to a previously accrued restructuring cost liability. Excludes adjustments for costs incurred, costs settled, and foreign currency translation adjustments.

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- Definition

Carrying amount as of the balance sheet date of known and estimated obligations associated with exit from or disposal of business activities or restructurings pursuant to a duly authorized plan, which are expected to be paid in the next twelve months or in the normal operating cycle if longer. Costs of such activities include those for one-time termination benefits, termination of an operating lease or other contract, consolidating or closing facilities, relocating employees, and costs associated with an ongoing benefit arrangement, but excludes costs associated with the retirement of a long-lived asset.

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Carrying amount as of the balance sheet date of known and estimated costs associated with exit from or disposal of business activities or restructurings pursuant to a duly authorized plan, which are expected to be paid after one year or beyond the next operating cycle, if longer. Costs of such activities include those for one-time termination benefits, termination of an operating lease or other contract, consolidating or closing facilities, and relocating employees, and costs associated with an ongoing benefit arrangement, but excludes costs associated with the retirement of a long-lived asset.

+ References

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- Definition

A roll forward is a reconciliation of a concept from the beginning of a period to the end of a period.

+ References

No definition available.

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