Long-Term Debt and Credit Facilities (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified									3 Months Ended					3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Mar. 31, 2012 5.8% Senior Notes due 2022	Mar. 31, 2012 Other.	Mar. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Senior notes	Dec. 31, 2011 CenturyLink, Inc. Senior notes	Mar. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Senior notes Minimum	Mar. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Senior notes Maximum	Mar. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. 7.65% Senior Notes due 2042	Mar. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. 5.8% Senior Notes due 2022	Dec. 31, 2011 CenturyLink, Inc. Credit facility	Mar. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Credit facility Minimum	Mar. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Credit facility Maximum	Mar. 31, 2012 Qwest 7.50% Notes due Feb 15, 2014	Mar. 31, 2012 Qwest Corporation Senior Notes and debentures	Dec. 31, 2011 Qwest Corporation Senior Notes and debentures	Mar. 31, 2012 Qwest Corporation Senior Notes and debentures Minimum	Mar. 31, 2012 Qwest Corporation Senior Notes and debentures Maximum	Mar. 31, 2012 Qwest Corporation Other.	Dec. 31, 2011 Qwest Corporation Other.	Mar. 31, 2012 Qwest Corporation Other. Minimum	Mar. 31, 2012 Qwest Corporation Other. Maximum	Mar. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation Senior notes	Dec. 31, 2011 Embarq Corporation Senior notes	Mar. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation Senior notes Minimum	Mar. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation Senior notes Maximum	Mar. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation First mortgage bonds	Dec. 31, 2011 Embarq Corporation First mortgage bonds	Mar. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation Other.	Dec. 31, 2011 Embarq Corporation Other.	Mar. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation Other. Minimum	Mar. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation Other. Maximum	Mar. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation First mortgage notes Minimum	Mar. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation First mortgage notes Maximum	Mar. 31, 2012 Other First mortgage notes	Dec. 31, 2011 Other First mortgage notes	Mar. 31, 2012 Other First mortgage notes Minimum	Mar. 31, 2012 Other First mortgage notes Maximum
Long-term Debt and Credit Facilities
Capital lease and other obligations	$ 811	$ 712
Unamortized premiums, discounts and other, net	231	269
Total long-term debt	22,867	21,836		750	6,568	4,518					277				5,032	5,832			5,628	5,628			4,013	4,013			322	322	200	200					62	65
Less current maturities	(2,200)	(480)
Long-term debt, excluding current maturities	20,667	21,356
Interest rate, stated percentage			5.80%				5.00%	7.875%				2.55%	4.50%	7.50%			6.875%	8.00%	3.724%		6.50%	8.375%			6.738%	7.995%					6.75%	9.00%	6.875%	8.77%			2.00%	10.00%
Repayments of notes														800
Aggregate principal amount of debt									650	1,400
Net proceeds from issuance of debt									$ 644	$ 1,388