Long-Term Debt and Credit Facilities (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended						1 Months Ended					1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended					12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended						1 Months Ended				1 Months Ended					1 Months Ended				1 Months Ended						1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended				12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended			1 Months Ended											12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2012 Credit facility item subsidiary	Apr. 05, 2012 Credit facility	Dec. 31, 2012 Credit facility LIBOR	Dec. 31, 2012 Credit facility Base Rate	Dec. 31, 2012 Credit facility Minimum LIBOR	Dec. 31, 2012 Credit facility Minimum Base Rate	Dec. 31, 2012 Credit facility Maximum LIBOR	Dec. 31, 2012 Credit facility Maximum Base Rate	Jun. 30, 2011 CenturyLink, Inc. Senior notes	Dec. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Senior notes	Dec. 31, 2011 CenturyLink, Inc. Senior notes	Dec. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Senior notes Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Senior notes Maximum	Mar. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. 7.65% Senior Notes due 2042	Mar. 12, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. 7.65% Senior Notes due 2042	Mar. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. 5.8% Senior Notes due 2022	Mar. 12, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. 5.8% Senior Notes due 2022	Jun. 30, 2011 CenturyLink, Inc. 7.60% Senior Notes, Series P, due 2039	Jun. 16, 2011 CenturyLink, Inc. 7.60% Senior Notes, Series P, due 2039	Jun. 30, 2011 CenturyLink, Inc. 5.15% Senior Notes, Series R, due 2017	Jun. 16, 2011 CenturyLink, Inc. 5.15% Senior Notes, Series R, due 2017	Jun. 30, 2011 CenturyLink, Inc. 6.45% Senior Notes, Series S, due 2021	Jun. 16, 2011 CenturyLink, Inc. 6.45% Senior Notes, Series S, due 2021	Dec. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Credit facility	Dec. 31, 2011 CenturyLink, Inc. Credit facility	Dec. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Credit facility Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Credit facility Maximum	Apr. 30, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Term loan subsidiary item	Dec. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Term loan	Dec. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Term loan LIBOR	Dec. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Term loan Base Rate	Dec. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Term loan Minimum LIBOR	Dec. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Term loan Minimum Base Rate	Dec. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Term loan Maximum LIBOR	Dec. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Term loan Maximum Base Rate	Aug. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. 7.875% Notes due 2012	Aug. 15, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. 7.875% Notes due 2012	Dec. 31, 2012 CenturyLink, Inc. Uncommitted revolving letter of credit facility	Apr. 30, 2011 CenturyLink, Inc. Uncommitted revolving letter of credit facility	Apr. 30, 2011 CenturyLink, Inc. Bridge financing item	Aug. 31, 2012 Certain subsidiaries of CenturyLink Rural Utilities Service Debt	Aug. 31, 2012 Certain subsidiaries of CenturyLink Rural Telephone Bank Debt	Apr. 02, 2012 QCII Minimum	Apr. 02, 2012 QCII Maximum	May 31, 2012 QCII 7.5% Notes due 2014	Mar. 31, 2012 QCII 7.5% Notes due 2014	May 17, 2012 QCII 7.5% Notes due 2014	Mar. 01, 2012 QCII 7.5% Notes due 2014	Oct. 31, 2012 QCII 8.00% Notes due 2015	Oct. 26, 2012 QCII 8.00% Notes due 2015	Dec. 31, 2012 Qwest Corporation Senior notes	Dec. 31, 2011 Qwest Corporation Senior notes	Dec. 31, 2012 Qwest Corporation Senior notes Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Qwest Corporation Senior notes Maximum	Apr. 30, 2012 Qwest Corporation 7.625% Notes due 2015	Apr. 18, 2012 Qwest Corporation 7.625% Notes due 2015	Jul. 30, 2012 Qwest Corporation 7.50% Notes due 2023	Jul. 20, 2012 Qwest Corporation 7.50% Notes due 2023	Apr. 30, 2012 Qwest Corporation 8.375% Notes Due 2016	Apr. 18, 2012 Qwest Corporation 8.375% Notes Due 2016	Dec. 31, 2012 Qwest Corporation Notes Bearing Floating Interest Rate Due 2013	Dec. 17, 2012 Qwest Corporation Notes Bearing Floating Interest Rate Due 2013	Dec. 31, 2012 Qwest Corporation Credit facility Maximum	Apr. 30, 2012 Qwest Corporation 7.0% Notes due April 2052	Dec. 31, 2012 Qwest Corporation 7.0% Notes due April 2052	Apr. 02, 2012 Qwest Corporation 7.0% Notes due April 2052	Jun. 30, 2012 Qwest Corporation 7.0% Notes due July 2052	Dec. 31, 2012 Qwest Corporation 7.0% Notes due July 2052	Jun. 25, 2012 Qwest Corporation 7.0% Notes due July 2052	Jun. 30, 2011 Qwest Corporation 7.875% Notes due 2011	Jun. 08, 2011 Qwest Corporation 7.875% Notes due 2011	Oct. 31, 2011 Qwest Corporation 6.75% Notes Due October 4, 2021	Oct. 04, 2011 Qwest Corporation 6.75% Notes Due October 4, 2021	Sep. 30, 2011 Qwest Corporation 7.5% Notes due September 21, 2051	Dec. 31, 2012 Qwest Corporation 7.5% Notes due September 21, 2051	Sep. 21, 2011 Qwest Corporation 7.5% Notes due September 21, 2051	Jun. 30, 2011 Qwest Corporation 7.375% Notes due June 8, 2051	Dec. 31, 2012 Qwest Corporation 7.375% Notes due June 8, 2051	Jun. 08, 2011 Qwest Corporation 7.375% Notes due June 8, 2051	Oct. 31, 2011 Qwest Corporation 8.875% Notes due March 15, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation Senior notes	Dec. 31, 2011 Embarq Corporation Senior notes	Dec. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation Senior notes Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation Senior notes Maximum	Apr. 30, 2012 Embarq Corporation 6.738% Notes due 2013	Apr. 23, 2012 Embarq Corporation 6.738% Notes due 2013	Apr. 02, 2012 Embarq Corporation 6.738% Notes due 2013	Apr. 30, 2012 Embarq Corporation 7.082% Notes due 2016	Apr. 02, 2012 Embarq Corporation 7.082% Notes due 2016	Dec. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation Other.	Dec. 31, 2011 Embarq Corporation Other.	Dec. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation Other. Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation Other. Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation First mortgage bonds	Dec. 31, 2011 Embarq Corporation First mortgage bonds	Dec. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation First mortgage bonds Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Embarq Corporation First mortgage bonds Maximum	Dec. 31, 2011 Other subsidiaries First mortgage notes	Dec. 31, 2012 Amendment and restatement of credit agreement Credit facility lender	Apr. 06, 2012 Amendment and restatement of credit agreement Credit facility	Dec. 31, 2012 Amendment and restatement of credit agreement Credit facility Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Amendment and restatement of credit agreement Credit facility Maximum	Apr. 06, 2012 Amendment and restatement of credit agreement Letters of credit
Long-term Debt and Credit Facilities
Capital lease and other obligations	$ 734	$ 712
Unamortized premiums, discounts and other, net	18	269
Total long-term debt	20,605	21,836
Less current maturities	(1,205)	(480)
Long-term debt, excluding current maturities	19,400	21,356
Outstanding amount of borrowings under the credit facility				820
Interest rate, stated percentage															5.00%	7.65%		7.65%		5.80%		7.60%		5.15%		6.45%			1.96%	4.00%		2.22%								7.875%						6.50%	8.875%			7.50%	7.50%		8.00%			3.558%	8.375%		7.625%		7.50%		8.375%		3.558%				7.00%			7.00%		7.875%		6.75%			7.50%			7.375%	8.875%			7.082%	7.995%		6.738%	6.738%		7.082%			6.75%	9.00%			6.875%	8.77%
Weighted average interest rate (as a percent)																											2.45%
Period to reset interest rate																																																																3 months
Principal amount of notes issued												2,000					650		1,400		400		350		1,250						440																																				525			400					950		575			661
Termination fees																																											16
Repayments of notes																																							318					29	30			500	800			550								484													825										1,500					200
Aggregate principal amount of debt																																																											400				811	750																										528		2,000
Net proceeds from issuance of debt												1,959					644		1,389																																																508			387					927		557			642
Principal amount of notes for which tender offers are received and accepted																																																										308				575																										328			816
Redemption price of debt instrument that may be redeemed (as a percent)																																																																				100.00%			100.00%							100.00%			100.00%
Number of banks from which commitment letters received																																											2
Percentage of principal amount of notes for which tender offer was received and accepted																																																										77.00%				71.00%																										62.00%			41.00%
Amount for which cash tender offer is received and accepted	5,118	2,984	500																																																							369				722																										360			944
Net loss (gain) on early retirement of debt	179	8																																																		(15)						46																																	144
Maximum borrowing capacity					1,700																																					160	2,000																																																												2,000			400
Letters of credit outstanding																																									120
Number of lenders																																																																																																						18
Lender commitment																																																																																																								2.5	181.0
Interest rate margin (as a percent)								1.25%	0.25%	2.25%	1.25%	0.50%																							1.50%	0.50%	2.50%	1.50%																																						0.50%
Number of wholly-owned subsidiaries as guarantors for the Credit Facility				2																											2
Number of QCII wholly-owned subsidiaries as guarantors for the Credit Facility				1																											1
Number of consecutive quarterly installments repayment																															29
Repayment amount of quarterly installment																															5.5
Variable rate basis in which principal and interest payments are discounted in determining redemption price						LIBOR	base rate																										LIBOR	base rate
Aggregate maturities of our long-term debt (excluding unamortized premiums, discounts, and other)
2013	1,205
2014	781
2015	545
2016	1,488
2017	2,313
2018 and Thereafter	14,255
Total long-term debt	20,587												6,250	4,518													820	277				424																						9,168	11,460																													2,669	4,013								200	200			322	322			65
Interest expense:
Gross interest expense	1,362	1,097	557
Capitalized interest	(43)	(25)	(13)
Total interest expense	1,319	1,072	544
Aggregate amount of debt instrument over which provisions of cross acceleration relating to other debt obligations are applicable																																																								$ 100
Percentage of net tangible assets allowed to secure senior notes																																																																																							15.00%
Percentage of property, plant and equipment of parent company that is pledged to secure long-term debt of subsidiaries	21.00%
Debt to EBITDA ratio to be maintained under the Credit Facility																														4																																				2.85