Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2014 USD ($)
Description of Business
Venezuela deconsolidation charge	$ 0	$ (171)	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ (171)	$ 0	$ 0
intercompany receivables write-off		40
Deferred Tax Assets, Net, Current					$ 8					$ 8
Business Acquisition, Effective Date of Acquisition					Oct. 31, 2014				Oct. 31, 2014
IP Equipment												$ 222
New Accounting Pronouncement or Change in Accounting Principle, Effect of Change on Net Income										90
Period company may receive up front payments for services to be provided in the future (in years)									25
USF contributions									$ 323	$ 234	194
Bad debt expense									23	22	17
Net Income (Loss)	3,323	1	(13)	122	$ 66	85	51	112	3,433	$ 314	(109)
Impairment of Intangible Assets (Excluding Goodwill)									17
New Accounting Pronouncement or Change in Accounting Principle, Effect of Change on Basic Earnings Per Share | $ / shares										$ 0.35
Network Access Costs	708	706	696	723	695	607	613	614	2,833	$ 2,529	2,471
Network Related Expenses	344	369	363	356	345	307	302	292	1,432	1,246	1,214
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses	369	364	364	370	393	266	267	255	1,467	1,181	1,162
Total Costs and Expenses	1,715	1,735	$ 1,711	$ 1,737	1,683	$ 1,367	$ 1,369	$ 1,345	6,898	$ 5,764	5,647
Racks and Cabinets												114
Facility Equipment												151
Fixtures and Equipment, Gross												$ 487
New Accounting Pronouncement or Change in Accounting Principle, Effect of Change on Diluted Earnings Per Share | $ / shares										$ 0.35
Debt Instrument, Unamortized Debt Issuance Costs	128				145				128	$ 145
Deferred Finance Costs, Current, Net	$ 19								19
Deferred Tax Liabilities, Net, Current					$ 8					8
Cash Divested from Deconsolidation		$ 83							83	0	0
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate, Translation		13.5					6.3
Capitalized labor and related costs associated with employee and contract labor working on capital projects									$ 244	$ 187	$ 164
Sales Revenue | Customer Concentration Risk
Description of Business
Percentage of communications revenue from top ten customers									16.00%	17.00%	17.00%
IP Equipment [Member]
Description of Business
Property, plant and equipment, useful life, minimum (in years)									7 years		4 years
racks and cabinets [Member]
Description of Business
Property, plant and equipment, useful life, minimum (in years)									15 years		7 years
Office Equipment [Member]
Description of Business
Property, plant and equipment, useful life, minimum (in years)									15 years		10 years
Minimum [Member]
Description of Business
Finite-lived intangible assets, useful life, minimum (in years)									2 years
Minimum [Member] | Facility and Leasehold Improvements
Description of Business
Property, plant and equipment, useful life, minimum (in years)									15 years
Minimum [Member] | Network infrastructure (including fiber and conduit)
Description of Business
Property, plant and equipment, useful life, minimum (in years)									25 years
Minimum [Member] | Operating Equipment
Description of Business
Property, plant and equipment, useful life, minimum (in years)									5 years
Minimum [Member] | Expansion and improvements of communications network and customer installations
Description of Business
Property, plant and equipment, useful life, minimum (in years)									3 years
Minimum [Member] | Office Equipment [Member]
Description of Business
Property, plant and equipment, useful life, minimum (in years)									3 years
Maximum
Description of Business
Finite-lived intangible assets, useful life, minimum (in years)									12 years
Maximum | Facility and Leasehold Improvements
Description of Business
Property, plant and equipment, useful life, minimum (in years)									40 years
Maximum | Network infrastructure (including fiber and conduit)
Description of Business
Property, plant and equipment, useful life, minimum (in years)									50 years
Maximum | Operating Equipment
Description of Business
Property, plant and equipment, useful life, minimum (in years)									15 years
Maximum | Expansion and improvements of communications network and customer installations
Description of Business
Property, plant and equipment, useful life, minimum (in years)									7 years
Maximum | Software development
Description of Business
Property, plant and equipment, useful life, minimum (in years)									3 years
Maximum | Office Equipment [Member]
Description of Business
Property, plant and equipment, useful life, minimum (in years)									7 years