Commitments and Contingencies (Details) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended		24 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		12 Months Ended					1 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 CenturyLink, Inc. security shareholder_derivative_action	Dec. 31, 2013 Pending litigation related to Federal Communications Act USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 Pending litigation related to Federal Communications Act USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2007 William Douglas Fulghum, et al. v. Embarq Corporation USD ($)	Oct. 14, 2011 Abbott et al. v. Sprint Nextel et al. plaintiff	Jul. 16, 2013 Comcast MO Group, Inc. Qwest USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 KPNQwest USD ($) lawsuit	Dec. 31, 2013 KPNQwest EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2013 Cargill Financial Markets, Plc and Citibank, N.A. USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Cargill Financial Markets, Plc and Citibank, N.A. EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2013 Fiber-optic cable installation state	Feb. 27, 2014 Subsequent Event KPNQwest USD ($)	Feb. 27, 2014 Subsequent Event KPNQwest EUR (€)
Commitments and Contingencies
Number of lawsuits filed (lawsuits)										2	2
Charges claimed against Sprint Nextel						$ 34
Proceeds from legal settlements					24
Effect of modifications made to Embarq's benefits program, greater than							300
Number of plaintiffs have alleged breach of fiduciary duty (plaintiffs)								1,500
Litigation Matters Assumed in Qwest Acquisition
Damages sought by plaintiff									80	5,800	4,200	301	219
Payments for Legal Settlements															235	171
Legal Reserve, KPNQwest Litigation Settlement										235	171
Number of states in which service is provided (states)														34
Number of action pending before the Illinois Court of Appeals to be brought on behalf of landowner in Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin (action pending)														1
Number of states in which final approval of settlements received (states)														30
Number of states where an action is pending (states)														1
Number of states in which actions are not currently pending														3
Number of securities in which the company is the defendant (securities)				1
Number of shareholder derivative actions in which the company is the defendant (shareholder derivative actions)				4
Capital lease activity
Assets acquired through capital leases	12	209
Depreciation expense	136	150
Cash payments towards capital leases	119	113
Assets included in property, plant and equipment	877	893
Accumulated depreciation	338	229
Future annual minimum payments under capital lease arrangements
2014	144
2015	111
2016	75
2017	70
2018	68
2019 and thereafter	308
Total minimum payments	776
Less: amount representing interest and executory costs	(206)
Present value of minimum payments	570
Less: current portion	(109)
Long-term portion	461
Operating Leases
Rent expense	455	445	401
Sublease rental income	16	18	17
Future rental commitments
2014	297
2015	274
2016	252
2017	232
2018	209
2019 and thereafter	1,391
Total future minimum payments	2,655
Minimum sublease rentals due in the future under non-cancelable subleases	104
Purchase obligations
Total purchase commitments	(628)
2014	221
2015 and 2016	248
2017 and 2018	80
2019 and thereafter	$ 79