Commitments and Contingencies	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]
Commitments and Contingencies	(17) Commitments and Contingencies: We anticipate total capital expenditures for business operations of approximately $625 million to $675 million for 2013. Although we from time to time make short-term purchasing commitments to vendors with respect to these expenditures, we generally do not enter into firm, written contracts for such activities. In connection with the Transaction, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and certain state regulatory commissions, in connection with granting their approvals of the Transaction, specified certain capital expenditure and operating requirements for the Acquired Territories for specified periods of time post-closing. These requirements focus primarily on certain capital investment commitments to expand broadband availability to at least 85% of the households throughout the Acquired Territories with minimum download speeds of 3 megabits per second (Mbps) by the end of 2013 and 4 Mbps by the end of 2015. As of March 31, 2013, we had expanded broadband availability in excess of 1 Mbps to 87% of the households throughout the Acquired Territories, in excess of 3 Mbps to 84% of the households throughout the Acquired Territories, and in excess of 4 Mbps to 80% of the households throughout the Acquired Territories. To satisfy all or part of certain capital investment commitments to three state regulatory commissions, we placed an aggregate amount of $115.0 million in cash into escrow accounts and obtained a letter of credit for $190 million in 2010. Another $72.4 million of cash in an escrow account (with a cash balance of $23.9 million and an associated liability of $0.2 million as of March 31, 2013) was acquired in connection with the Transaction to be used for service quality initiatives in the state of West Virginia. As of March 31, 2013, $145.0 million had been released from escrow and the Company had a restricted cash balance in these escrow accounts in the aggregate amount of $42.7 million, including interest earned. In addition, as of March 31, 2013, the letter of credit had been reduced to $20 million. The aggregate amount of these escrow accounts and the letter of credit will continue to decrease over time as Frontier makes the required capital expenditures in the respective states. In our normal course of business, we have obligations under certain non-cancelable arrangements for services. During 2012, we entered into a "take or pay" arrangement for the purchase of future long distance and carrier services. Our total commitments under the arrangement are $132.0 million, $141.8 million and $140.8 million for the years ending December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. As of March 31, 2013, we expect to utilize the services included within the arrangement and no liability for the "take or pay" provision has been recorded. The Company has entered into an agreement to upgrade a significant portion of its existing vehicle fleet. As of March 31, 2013, the Company has accepted delivery of 3,047 new vehicles and expects to accept delivery of 632 additional new vehicles by June 30, 2013. The new vehicles expected to be leased under this program will represent approximately 50% of our vehicle fleet. The minimum lease commitment for each vehicle is 1 year and the leases are renewable at the Company's option. The total annual lease expense for all of the new vehicles is expected to be approximately [$30.0] million on an annualized basis. We are party to various legal proceedings (including individual, class and putative class actions) arising in the normal course of our business covering a wide range of matters and types of claims including, but not limited to, general contracts, billing disputes, rights of access, taxes and surcharges, consumer protection, trademark and patent infringement, employment, regulatory, tort, claims of competitors and disputes with other carriers. In accordance with U.S. GAAP, we accrue an expense for pending litigation when we determine that an unfavorable outcome is probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Legal defense costs are expensed as incurred. None of our existing accruals for pending matters is material. We constantly monitor our pending litigation for the purpose of adjusting our accruals and revising our disclosures accordingly, in accordance with U.S. GAAP, when required. Litigation is, however, subject to uncertainty, and the outcome of any particular matter is not predictable. We will vigorously defend our interests for pending litigation, and as of this date, we believe that the ultimate resolution of all such matters, after considering insurance coverage or other indemnities to which we are entitled, will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or our cash flows. We sold all of our utility businesses as of April 1, 2004. However, we have retained a potential payment obligation associated with our previous electric utility activities in the State of Vermont. The Vermont Joint Owners (VJO), a consortium of 14 Vermont utilities, including us, entered into a purchase power agreement with Hydro-Quebec in 1987. The agreement contains "step-up" provisions that state if any VJO member defaults on its purchase obligation under the contract to purchase power from Hydro-Quebec, then the other VJO participants will assume responsibility for the defaulting party's share on a pro-rata basis. Our pro-rata share of the purchase power obligation is 10%. If any member of the VJO defaults on its obligations under the Hydro-Quebec agreement, then the remaining members of the VJO, including us, may be required to pay for a substantially larger share of the VJO's total purchase power obligation for the remainder of the agreement (which runs through 2015). U.S. GAAP rules require that we disclose "the maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted) the guarantor could be required to make under the guarantee." U.S. GAAP rules also state that we must make such disclosure "… even if the likelihood of the guarantor's having to make any payments under the guarantee is remote…" As noted above, our obligation only arises as a result of default by another VJO member, such as upon bankruptcy. Therefore, to satisfy the "maximum potential amount" disclosure requirement we must assume that all members of the VJO simultaneously default, an unlikely scenario given that all VJO members are regulated utility providers with regulated cost recovery. Despite the remote chance that such an event could occur, or that the State of Vermont could or would allow such an event, assuming that all the members of the VJO defaulted on January 1, 2013 and remained in default for the duration of the contract (another 3 years), we estimate that our undiscounted purchase obligation for 2013 through 2015 would be approximately $431.1 million. In such a scenario, the Company would then own the power and could seek to recover its costs. We would do this by seeking to recover our costs from the defaulting members and/or reselling the power to other utility providers or the northeast power grid. There is an active market for the sale of power. We could potentially lose money if we were unable to sell the power at cost. We caution that we cannot predict with any degree of certainty any potential outcome.

(17) Commitments and Contingencies:

We anticipate total capital expenditures for business operations of approximately $625 million to $675 million for 2013. Although we from time to time make short-term purchasing commitments to vendors with respect to these expenditures, we generally do not enter into firm, written contracts for such activities.

In connection with the Transaction, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and certain state regulatory commissions, in connection with granting their approvals of the Transaction, specified certain capital expenditure and operating requirements for the Acquired Territories for specified periods of time post-closing. These requirements focus primarily on certain capital investment commitments to expand broadband availability to at least 85% of the households throughout the Acquired Territories with minimum download speeds of 3 megabits per second (Mbps) by the end of 2013 and 4 Mbps by the end of 2015. As of March 31, 2013, we had expanded broadband availability in excess of 1 Mbps to 87% of the households throughout the Acquired Territories, in excess of 3 Mbps to 84% of the households throughout the Acquired Territories, and in excess of 4 Mbps to 80% of the households throughout the Acquired Territories.

To satisfy all or part of certain capital investment commitments to three state regulatory commissions, we placed an aggregate amount of $115.0 million in cash into escrow accounts and obtained a letter of credit for $190 million in 2010. Another $72.4 million of cash in an escrow account (with a cash balance of $23.9 million and an associated liability of $0.2 million as of March 31, 2013) was acquired in connection with the Transaction to be used for service quality initiatives in the state of West Virginia. As of March 31, 2013, $145.0 million had been released from escrow and the Company had a restricted cash balance in these escrow accounts in the aggregate amount of $42.7 million, including interest earned. In addition, as of March 31, 2013, the letter of credit had been reduced to $20 million. The aggregate amount of these escrow accounts and the letter of credit will continue to decrease over time as Frontier makes the required capital expenditures in the respective states.

In our normal course of business, we have obligations under certain non-cancelable arrangements for services. During 2012, we entered into a "take or pay" arrangement for the purchase of future long distance and carrier services. Our total commitments under the arrangement are $132.0 million, $141.8 million and $140.8 million for the years ending December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. As of March 31, 2013, we expect to utilize the services included within the arrangement and no liability for the "take or pay" provision has been recorded.

The Company has entered into an agreement to upgrade a significant portion of its existing vehicle fleet. As of March 31, 2013, the Company has accepted delivery of 3,047 new vehicles and expects to accept delivery of 632 additional new vehicles by June 30, 2013. The new vehicles expected to be leased under this program will represent approximately 50% of our vehicle fleet. The minimum lease commitment for each vehicle is 1 year and the leases are renewable at the Company's option. The total annual lease expense for all of the new vehicles is expected to be approximately [$30.0] million on an annualized basis.

We are party to various legal proceedings (including individual, class and putative class actions) arising in the normal course of our business covering a wide range of matters and types of claims including, but not limited to, general contracts, billing disputes, rights of access, taxes and surcharges, consumer protection, trademark and patent infringement, employment, regulatory, tort, claims of competitors and disputes with other carriers.

In accordance with U.S. GAAP, we accrue an expense for pending litigation when we determine that an unfavorable outcome is probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Legal defense costs are expensed as incurred. None of our existing accruals for pending matters is material. We constantly monitor our pending litigation for the purpose of adjusting our accruals and revising our disclosures accordingly, in accordance with U.S. GAAP, when required. Litigation is, however, subject to uncertainty, and the outcome of any particular matter is not predictable. We will vigorously defend our interests for pending litigation, and as of this date, we believe that the ultimate resolution of all such matters, after considering insurance coverage or other indemnities to which we are entitled, will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or our cash flows.

We sold all of our utility businesses as of April 1, 2004. However, we have retained a potential payment obligation associated with our previous electric utility activities in the State of Vermont. The Vermont Joint Owners (VJO), a consortium of 14 Vermont utilities, including us, entered into a purchase power agreement with Hydro-Quebec in 1987. The agreement contains "step-up" provisions that state if any VJO member defaults on its purchase obligation under the contract to purchase power from Hydro-Quebec, then the other VJO participants will assume responsibility for the defaulting party's share on a pro-rata basis. Our pro-rata share of the purchase power obligation is 10%. If any member of the VJO defaults on its obligations under the Hydro-Quebec agreement, then the remaining members of the VJO, including us, may be required to pay for a substantially larger share of the VJO's total purchase power obligation for the remainder of the agreement (which runs through 2015). U.S. GAAP rules require that we disclose "the maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted) the guarantor could be required to make under the guarantee." U.S. GAAP rules also state that we must make such disclosure "… even if the likelihood of the guarantor's having to make any payments under the guarantee is remote…" As noted above, our obligation only arises as a result of default by another VJO member, such as upon bankruptcy. Therefore, to satisfy the "maximum potential amount" disclosure requirement we must assume that all members of the VJO simultaneously default, an unlikely scenario given that all VJO members are regulated utility providers with regulated cost recovery. Despite the remote chance that such an event could occur, or that the State of Vermont could or would allow such an event, assuming that all the members of the VJO defaulted on January 1, 2013 and remained in default for the duration of the contract (another 3 years), we estimate that our undiscounted purchase obligation for 2013 through 2015 would be approximately $431.1 million. In such a scenario, the Company would then own the power and could seek to recover its costs. We would do this by seeking to recover our costs from the defaulting members and/or reselling the power to other utility providers or the northeast power grid. There is an active market for the sale of power. We could potentially lose money if we were unable to sell the power at cost. We caution that we cannot predict with any degree of certainty any potential outcome.