Commitments and Contingencies (Details)			12 Months Ended			24 Months Ended
	Jul. 16, 2013 USD ($)	Oct. 14, 2011 plaintiff	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) plaintiff	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2007 USD ($)
Commitments and Contingencies
Number of patents allegedly infringed, minimum			1
Capital lease activity
Assets acquired through capital leases			$ 17,000,000	$ 37,000,000	$ 12,000,000
Depreciation expense			96,000,000	126,000,000	136,000,000
Cash payments towards capital leases			89,000,000	118,000,000	119,000,000
Assets included in property, plant and equipment			722,000,000	850,000,000
Accumulated depreciation			352,000,000	393,000,000
Future annual minimum payments under capital lease arrangements
2016			85,000,000
2017			78,000,000
2018			76,000,000
2019			62,000,000
2020			47,000,000
2021 and thereafter			223,000,000
Total minimum payments			571,000,000
Less: amount representing interest and executory costs			(153,000,000)
Present value of minimum payments			418,000,000
Less: current portion			(56,000,000)
Long-term portion			362,000,000
Operating Leases
Rent expense			467,000,000	446,000,000	455,000,000
Sublease rental income			12,000,000	$ 14,000,000	$ 16,000,000
Future rental commitments
2016			301,000,000
2017			289,000,000
2018			268,000,000
2019			235,000,000
2020			209,000,000
2021 and thereafter			1,075,000,000
Total future minimum payments			2,377,000,000
Minimum sublease rentals due in the future under non-cancelable subleases			87,000,000
Purchase obligations maturities
Total purchase commitments			625,000,000
2016			364,000,000
2017 and 2018			144,000,000
2019 and 2020			46,000,000
2021 and thereafter			$ 71,000,000
William Douglas Fulghum, et al. v. Embarq Corporation
Commitments and Contingencies
Effect of modifications made to Embarq's benefits program, greater than						$ 300,000,000
Number of plaintiffs have alleged breach of fiduciary duty (plaintiffs) | plaintiff			15
Abbott et al. v. Sprint Nextel et al.
Commitments and Contingencies
Number of plaintiffs have alleged breach of fiduciary duty (plaintiffs)		1,500
Number of Plaintiffs, Limited Discovery | plaintiff		80
Comcast MO Group, Inc. | Qwest Communications International Inc
Litigation Matters Assumed in Qwest Acquisition
Damages sought by plaintiff	$ 80,000,000
Unfavorable regulatory action
Litigation Matters Assumed in Qwest Acquisition
Reasonable expectation of loss, maximum per proceeding			$ 100,000