Commitments and Contingencies (Details)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended					3 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2011 Former Centel plant sites	Dec. 31, 2009 Civil Action No. 07-CV-2602	Jan. 31, 2008 Civil Action No. 07-CV-2602 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 Pending litigation related to Federal Communications Act	Dec. 31, 2009 Pending litigation related to Federal Communications Act USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2010 KPNQwest USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2010 KPNQwest EUR (€)	Sep. 30, 2006 Cargill Financial Markets, Plc and Citibank, N.A. USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2006 Cargill Financial Markets, Plc and Citibank, N.A. EUR (€)	Mar. 31, 2007 Retirees Putative Class Action USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 Fiber Optic Cable Installation
Commitments and Contingencies
Number of indirect subsidiaries that acquired entities with plant sites	1
Number of former plant sites that produced manufactured gas	7
Number of sites on which Embarq and current landowners are working with the EPA	3
Number of sites where Centel has agreed to share remediation costs	5
Effect of modifications made to Embarq's benefits program			$ 300,000,000
Number of former Centel executives involved in arbitration proceeding		15
Number of lawsuits filed against subsidiaries of Sprint Nextel					2
Charges claimed against Sprint Nextel					34,000,000
Number of lawsuits tried				1							2
Period litigation is stayed (in months)				12 months
Litigation Matters Assumed in Qwest Acquisition
Damages sought by plaintiff						6,100,000,000	4,200,000,000	320,000,000	219,000,000
Amount that life insurance benefit was reduced to for certain retirees										$ 10,000