Debt - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	1 Months Ended			9 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		1 Months Ended								1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended									3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	1 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013 Bridge Loan	Oct. 24, 2013 Subsequent Event 364-Day Revolving Credit Agreement	Oct. 24, 2013 Subsequent Event 364-Day Revolving Credit Agreement Maximum	Sep. 30, 2013 Verizon Wireless	Sep. 30, 2013 Verizon Wireless Term Loan and Bridge Loan	Jun. 30, 2013 Verizon Communications Notes	Apr. 30, 2013 Verizon Communications Notes	Jun. 30, 2013 Verizon New York Inc Debentures	May 31, 2013 Verizon New York Inc Debentures	Oct. 24, 2013 Verizon New York Inc Debentures Subsequent Event	Jun. 30, 2013 Verizon Maryland LLC Debentures	Sep. 30, 2013 Guarantee Of Debentures And First Mortgage Bonds Of Operating Telephone Company Subsidiaries	Sep. 30, 2013 Guarantee of Debt Obligations of GTE Corporation	Oct. 31, 2013 October 31, 2013 Verizon New England Inc. Debentures	Sep. 30, 2013 Fixed and Floating Rate Notes Issued Related to Wireless Transaction Verizon Wireless	Sep. 30, 2013 Floating Rate Notes Due 2016 Verizon Wireless	Sep. 30, 2013 Floating Rate Notes Due 2018 Verizon Wireless	Sep. 30, 2013 Notes Due 2016 Verizon Wireless	Sep. 30, 2013 Notes Due 2018 Verizon Wireless	Sep. 30, 2013 Notes Due 2020 Verizon Wireless	Sep. 30, 2013 Notes Due 2023 Verizon Wireless	Sep. 30, 2013 Notes Due 2033 Verizon Wireless	Sep. 30, 2013 Notes Due 2043 Verizon Wireless	Sep. 30, 2013 Fixed and Floating Rate Verizon Notes from Noncontrolling Interest Purchase Transaction Verizon Wireless	Sep. 30, 2013 Fixed and Floating Rate Verizon Notes from Noncontrolling Interest Purchase Transaction Verizon Wireless	Oct. 24, 2013 Term Loan Agreement Subsequent Event	Oct. 24, 2013 Term Loan Agreement Maturity 3 Years Subsequent Event	Oct. 24, 2013 Term Loan Agreement Maturity 5 Years Subsequent Event	Sep. 30, 2013 Reduction in Debt Borrowing Capacity Bridge Loan	Sep. 30, 2013 Four Year Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount	$ 500,000,000																	$ 49,000,000,000	$ 2,250,000,000	$ 1,750,000,000	$ 4,250,000,000	$ 4,750,000,000	$ 4,000,000,000	$ 11,000,000,000	$ 6,000,000,000	$ 15,000,000,000
Debt instrument maturity date	2015																		2016	2018	2016	2018	2020	2023	2033	2043
Cash proceeds from issuance of debt, net of discounts and issuance costs	500,000,000																	48,700,000,000
Amount of notes repaid									500,000,000	1,250,000,000	100,000,000	100,000,000	300,000,000	250,000,000			300,000,000
Stated interest rate on debt instrument									4.375%	5.25%	7.00%	7.00%	6.70%	7.15%			4.75%		1.53%	1.75%	2.50%	3.65%	4.50%	5.15%	6.40%	6.55%
Redemption price of notes percentage							101.00%						100.00%	100.00%
Debt instrument, description of variable rate basis																			LIBOR plus 1.53%	LIBOR plus 1.75%
Debt instrument maturity date							Sep. 02, 2014						Nov. 01, 2023
Interest expense on debt related to the Wireless Transaction																											100,000,000	100,000,000
Borrowing capacity of term loan agreement																													12,000,000,000				6,200,000,000
Debt instrument maturity period																														3 years	5 years
Leverage ratio						3.50																							3.50
Transaction fees associated with additional debt agreement								700,000,000
Amount of borrowing capacity under bridge credit agreement				61,000,000,000																												12,000,000,000
Related fees for termination of bridge credit agreement				200,000,000
Credit facility, maturity date																																	Aug. 12, 2017
Amount of unused borrowing capacity on four-year credit facility																																	6,100,000,000
Amount of borrowing under revolving credit agreement					2,000,000,000
Principal amount outstanding in connection with the guarantee of debt obligations		$ 99,140,000,000	$ 51,987,000,000												$ 3,800,000,000	$ 1,700,000,000