Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) regional_operating_unit	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) regional_operating_unit $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2016 USD ($)
Description of Business
Region Operating Units | regional_operating_unit	3									3
Business Acquisition, Effective Date of Acquisition					Oct. 31, 2014					Oct. 31, 2014
Revenue	$ 2,032	$ 2,033	$ 2,056	$ 2,051	$ 2,053	$ 2,062	$ 2,061	$ 2,053		$ 8,172	$ 8,229	$ 6,777
Venezuela deconsolidation charge	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	0	$ (171)	$ 0	$ 0		$ 0	(171)	0
Deferred Finance Costs, Current, Net					19						19
Debt Issuance Costs, Noncurrent, Net					109						109
Period company may receive up front payments for services to be provided in the future (in years)										25
USF contributions										$ 357	323	234
Bad debt expense										18	23	22
Capitalized labor and related costs associated with employee and contract labor working on capital projects										271	244	$ 187
New Accounting Pronouncement or Change in Accounting Principle, Cumulative Effect of Change on Equity or Net Assets													$ 0
New Accounting Pronouncement or Change in Accounting Principle, Effect of Adoption, Quantification										$ 0
New Accounting Pronouncement or Change in Accounting Principle, Effect of Adoption, Quantification, Per Share | $ / shares										$ 0.06
Debt Issuance Costs, Net					$ 128						$ 128
Sales Revenue | Customer Concentration Risk
Description of Business
Percentage of communications revenue from top ten customers										16.00%	16.00%	17.00%
Minimum [Member]
Description of Business
Finite-lived intangible assets, useful life, minimum (in years)										4 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)										5 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
Venezuela [Member]
Description of Business
Revenue									$ 72