Debt and Other Financing Arrangements Long-Term Debt and Other (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended									12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended				1 Months Ended							12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended													12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior Notes due 2015 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Senior Notes due 2017 [Member]	Oct. 15, 2013 Senior Notes due 2017 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior Notes due 2017 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Senior Subordinated Notes due 2018 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Senior Subordinated Notes due 2018 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior Subordinated Notes due 2018 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Senior Notes due 2020 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Senior Notes due 2020 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior Notes due 2020 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior Notes due 2022 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Senior Notes due 2022 [Member]	Jan. 24, 2013 Senior Notes due 2022 [Member]	Dec. 31, 1993 Senior Notes due 2023 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Senior Notes due 2023 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior Notes due 2023 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Cincinnati Bell Telephone Unsecured Notes due 2023 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Cincinnati Bell Telephone Unsecured Notes due 2023 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Various Cincinnati Bell Telephone Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Various Cincinnati Bell Telephone Notes [Member]	Nov. 30, 1998 Cincinnati Bell Telephone Senior Notes due 2028 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Cincinnati Bell Telephone Senior Notes due 2028 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Cincinnati Bell Telephone Senior Notes due 2028 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Capital Lease Obligations [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Line of Credit [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Standby Letters of Credit [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Bridge Loan [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior Notes due 2015 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Senior Notes due 2017 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior Notes due 2020 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior Notes due 2020 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Cincinnati Bell Telephone Unsecured Notes due 2023 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Various Cincinnati Bell Telephone Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 CyrusOne LP [Member]	Jan. 24, 2013 CyrusOne LP [Member] Line of Credit [Member]	Jan. 24, 2013 CyrusOne LP [Member] Standby Letters of Credit [Member]	Jan. 24, 2013 CyrusOne LP [Member] Bridge Loan [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Debt Instrument, Redemption, Period One [Member] Senior Subordinated Notes due 2018 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Debt Instrument, Redemption, Period One [Member] Senior Notes due 2020 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Debt Instrument, Redemption, Period Two [Member] Senior Subordinated Notes due 2018 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Debt Instrument, Redemption, Period Two [Member] Senior Notes due 2020 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Debt Instrument, Redemption, Period Three [Member] Senior Subordinated Notes due 2018 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Debt Instrument, Redemption, Period Three [Member] Senior Notes due 2020 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Debt Instrument, Redemption, Period Four [Member] Senior Notes due 2020 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 US Treasury Securities [Member] Senior Subordinated Notes due 2018 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 US Treasury Securities [Member] Senior Notes due 2020 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Data Center Colocation [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Data Center Colocation [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Data Center Colocation [Member]	Jan. 24, 2013 CyrusOne [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Excluding Data Center Colocation [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt		$ 536.0	$ 525.0	$ 0								$ 625.0			$ 775.0		$ 525.0			$ 50.0
Customary Events of Default Amount for Existing Debt Instruments											35.0			35.0							20.0				20.0
Debt Instrument, Redemption Price, Percentage	104.125%										100.00%			100.00%																														104.375%	104.188%	102.188%	102.792%	100.00%	101.396%	100.00%
Incremental Percentage of Face Value											1.00%			1.00%
Redemption Price, Present Value of Percentage of Face Value											104.375%			104.188%
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate																																																			0.50%	0.50%
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage Rate Range, Minimum																								7.18%
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage Rate Range, Maximum																								7.27%
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage							7.00%	8.25%			8.75%			8.375%					6.375%		7.25%							6.30%
Proceeds from Issuance of Unsecured Debt																							80.0				150.0
Debt Instrument, Face Amount								0	500.0	500.0	625.0		625.0	683.9		683.9	525.0	0	525.0		40.0	40.0			134.5	134.5		134.5	134.5
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity					125	150																									200	30	25								225	50	30
Line of Credit Facility, Amount Outstanding	40.0	40.0	0																																					0
Other Financing Arrangements Liabilities [Abstract]
Other Financing Arrangements, Carrying Value	0	0	60.8
Repayments of Long-term Debt [Abstract]
Long-Term Debt, Excluding Capital Leases, Current	5.7	5.7
Long-Term Debt, Excluding Capital Leases, Repayments of Principal in Year Two	5.6	5.6
Long-Term Debt, Excluding Capital Leases, Repayments of Principal in Year Three	111.7	111.7
Long-Term Debt, Excluding Capital Leases, Repayments of Principal in Year Four	45.6	45.6
Long-Term Debt, Excluding Capital Leases, Repayments of Principal in Year Five	630.4	630.4
Long-Term Debt, Excluding Capital Leases, Repayments of Principal After Year Five	1,370.0	1,370.0
Long-Term Debt, Excluding Capital Leases, Gross	2,169.0	2,169.0
Long-Term Debt, Excluding Capital Leases, Net	2,162.7	2,162.7	2,554.3
Capital Leases, Future Principal Payments Due, Repayments of Principal in Next Twelve Months	6.9	6.9
Capital Leases, Future Principal Payments Due in Two Years	6.3	6.3
Capital Leases, Future Principal Payments Due in Three Years	6.6	6.6
Capital Leases, Future Principal Payments Due in Four Years	3.8	3.8
Capital Leases, Future Principal Payments Due in Five Years	2.9	2.9
Capital Leases, Future Principal Payments Due Thereafter	76.0	76.0
Capital Leases, Future Minimum Principal Payments Due	102.5	102.5
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations, Repayments of Principal in Next Twelve Months	12.6	12.6
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Two	11.9	11.9
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Three	118.3	118.3
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Four	49.4	49.4
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Five	633.3	633.3
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations, Maturities, Repayments of Principal after Year Five	1,446.0	1,446.0
Long-term Debt, Gross	2,271.5	2,271.5
Net unamortized discount	6.3	6.3	7.5
Net unamortized discount																														0
Total debt	2,265.2	2,265.2	2,689.4
Capital Leases, Future Minimum Payments Due [Abstract]
Capital Leases, Future Minimum Payments Due, Next Twelve Months	14.0	14.0
Capital Leases, Future Minimum Payments Due in Two Years	12.9	12.9
Capital Leases, Future Minimum Payments Due in Three Years	13.2	13.2
Capital Leases, Future Minimum Payments Due in Four Years	9.8	9.8
Capital Leases, Future Minimum Payments Due in Five Years	8.7	8.7
Capital Leases, Future Minimum Payments Due Thereafter	116.8	116.8
Payments of Debt Issuance Costs		6.7	20.9	0.8
Amortization of Deferred Charges [Abstract]
Amortization of Financing Costs		5.9	7.2	7.0
Deferred Finance Costs [Abstract]
Deferred Finance Costs, Noncurrent, Net	26.1	26.1	47.1																																																					16.9
Debt Covenants [Abstract]
Consolidated total leverage ratio, maximum allowed under Line of Credit Facility		7.00
Consolidated senior secured leverage ratio, maximum allowed under Line of Credit Facility		3.00
Consolidated interest coverage ratio, minimum allowed under Line of Credit Facility		1.50
Line of credit facility, maximum capital expenditures in current year		220
Line of credit facility, maximum aggregate capital expenditures over life of the agreement		955
Capital expenditures, excluding CyrusOne		196.9	367.2	255.5																																																	7.7	228.2	118.5		189.0
Consolidated Adjusted Senior Debt to EBITDA ratio		4:00
Secured Debt, Other	161.4	161.4
Extinguishment of Debt Disclosures [Abstract]
Extinguishment of Debt, Amount																																		247.5	500.0	91.1	91.1	73.0	73.0
Loss on extinguishment of debt		$ (29.6)	$ (13.6)	$ 0
Number of Leased Facilities on which Purchase Option was held																																																						1