Property, Plant and Equipment (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment	$ 14,353,763,000	$ 13,638,136,000
Construction work in progress	274,488,000	384,380,000
Less: Accumulated depreciation	(6,848,867,000)	(6,090,613,000)
Property, plant and equipment, net	7,504,896,000	7,547,523,000
Depreciation expense	844,600,000	881,500,000	599,700,000
Land [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment	126,483,000	128,855,000
Buildings and leasehold improvements [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment	1,052,650,000	1,050,555,000
Estimated useful lives		41 years
General support [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment	988,707,000	914,777,000
General support [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives	17 years
General support [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives	5 years
Central office/electronic circuit equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment	4,965,099,000	4,582,296,000
Central office/electronic circuit equipment [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives	11 years
Central office/electronic circuit equipment [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives	5 years
Poles [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment	507,922,000	471,561,000
Estimated useful lives		49 years
Cable and wire [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment	6,038,835,000	5,727,310,000
Cable and wire [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives	30 years
Cable and wire [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives	15 years
Conduit [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment	354,777,000	342,868,000
Estimated useful lives		60 years
Other [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment	$ 44,802,000	$ 35,534,000
Other [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives	30 years
Other [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives	12 years