Goodwill, Customer Relationships and Other Intangible Assets (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended							3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Mar. 31, 2012 Regional markets	Mar. 31, 2012 Business markets	Mar. 31, 2012 Wholesale markets	Mar. 31, 2012 Savvis operations	Mar. 31, 2012 Qwest	Apr. 02, 2011 Qwest	Mar. 31, 2012 Savvis	Jul. 15, 2011 Savvis	Mar. 31, 2012 Capitalized software	Dec. 31, 2011 Capitalized software	Mar. 31, 2012 Tradenames and patents	Dec. 31, 2011 Tradenames and patents	Mar. 31, 2012 Customer relationships	Dec. 31, 2011 Customer relationships	Mar. 31, 2012 Customer relationships Maximum	Mar. 31, 2012 Customer relationships Minimum
Intangible assets
Goodwill	$ 21,726		$ 21,726	$ 11,799	$ 5,323	$ 3,261	$ 1,343
Customer relationships, net	7,937		8,239
Accumulated amortization												553	441	90	73	1,639	1,337
Indefinite-life intangible assets	422		418
Other intangible assets subject to amortization
Other intangible assets, net	2,161		2,239									1,559	1,622	180	199
Net carrying amounts of goodwill									10,123		1,343
Priliminary estimated of acquisition of Savvis.										2,074
Amortization expense related to intangible assets	430	54						363		17
Intangible assets subject to amortization
Gross carrying amount												$ 237
Estimated life (in years)												7 years		4 years				12 years 6 months	10 years
Estimated life (in years)												20 years