Long-Term Debt and Credit Facilities (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of long-term debt including unamortized discounts and premiums

The following chart reflects the consolidated long-term debt of CenturyLink, Inc. and its subsidiaries, including unamortized discounts and premiums and unamortized debt issuance costs, but excluding intercompany debt:

			As of December 31,
	Interest Rates(1)	Maturities	2017			2016
			(Dollars in millions)
Senior Secured Debt:
CenturyLink, Inc.
2017 Revolving Credit Facility(2)	4.153% - 4.285%	2022	$	405		—
Term Loan A	4.319%	2022	1,575			—
Term Loan A-1	4.319%	2022	370			—
Term Loan B	4.319%	2025	6,000			—
Subsidiaries:
Level 3 Financing, Inc.
Tranche B 2024 Term Loan	3.696%	2024	4,611			—
Embarq Corporation subsidiaries
First mortgage bonds	7.125% - 8.770%	2018 - 2025	151			223
Senior Notes and Other Debt:
CenturyLink, Inc.
Senior notes	5.625% - 7.650%	2019 - 2042	8,125			8,975
2012 Credit facility and revolving line of credit(2)	—	—	—			370
2012 Term loan	—	—	—			336
Subsidiaries:
Level 3 Financing, Inc.
Senior notes	5.125% - 6.125%	2021 - 2026	5,315			—
Level 3 Parent, LLC
Senior notes	5.750%	2022	600			—
Qwest Corporation
Senior notes	6.125% - 7.750%	2018 - 2057	7,294			7,259
Term loan	3.570%	2025	100			100
Qwest Capital Funding, Inc.
Senior notes	6.500% - 7.750%	2018 - 2031	981			981
Embarq Corporation and subsidiary
Senior note	7.995%	2036	1,485			1,485
Other	9.000%	2019	150			150
Capital lease and other obligations(3)	Various	Various	891			440
Unamortized discounts and other, net			23			(133	)
Unamortized debt issuance costs			(350		)	(193	)
Total long-term debt			37,726			19,993
Less current maturities not associated with assets held for sale			(443		)	(1,503	)
Less capital lease obligations associated with assets held for sale			—			(305	)
Long-term debt, excluding current maturities and capital leases obligations associated with assets held for sale			$	37,283		18,185

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⁽¹⁾  As of December 31, 2017.

⁽²⁾  The aggregate amount outstanding on our 2017 revolving credit facility at December 31, 2017 was $405 million with a weighted-average interest rate of 4.186%. These amounts change on a regular basis. The aggregate amount outstanding on our 2012 credit facility and revolving line of credit borrowings at December 31, 2016 was $370 million with weighted-average interest rate of 4.500%. As described under "2017 CenturyLink Credit Agreement" below, we discharged and terminated our 2012 credit facility on November 1, 2017.

⁽³⁾  As a result of not meeting the sale leaseback accounting requirements, we must treat a certain amount of the pre-tax cash proceeds from the sale of our real estate assets as though it were the result of a financing obligation on our consolidated balance sheet. Also, the capital lease obligations that were shown as held for sale as of December 31, 2016 are retained and revalued. Please see Note 3—Sale of Data Centers and Colocation Business for additional information on our most current estimate of the financing obligation.

Schedule of maturities of long-term debt

Set forth below is the aggregate principal amount of our long-term debt (excluding unamortized discounts, net and unamortized debt issuance costs) maturing during the following years:

	(Dollars in millions)(1)(2)
2018	$	443
2019	638
2020	1,194
2021	3,109
2022	5,033
2023 and thereafter	27,137
Total long-term debt	$	37,554

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⁽¹⁾  The amount outstanding on the data centers obligation at December 31, 2017 was $598 million. The aggregate maturities of long-term debt do not include $499 million of this obligation, which, at the end of the lease term on April 30, 2020, will be derecognized along with the remaining net book value of the associated real estate assets. Also, the aggregate maturities of long-term debt do not include future imputed lease income of $173 million attributable to the accounting for certain of the real estate assets under the failed-sale-leaseback. See Note 3—Sale of Data Centers and Colocation Business for additional information.

⁽²⁾  Actual principal paid in any year may differ due to the possible future refinancing of outstanding debt or the issuance of new debt. The projected amounts in the table also exclude any impacts from any further acquisitions.

Schedule of amount of gross interest expense, net of capitalized interest

Interest expense includes interest on total long-term debt. The following table presents the amount of gross interest expense, net of capitalized interest:

	Years Ended December 31,
	2017			2016		2015
	(Dollars in millions)
Interest expense:
Gross interest expense	$	1,559		1,372		1,364
Capitalized interest	(78		)	(54	)	(52	)
Total interest expense	$	1,481		1,318		1,312