In
telephony
Telephony ( ) is the field of technology involving the development, application, and deployment of telecommunication services for the purpose of electronic transmission of voice, fax, or data, between distant parties. The history of telephony is i ...
, a zip tone (also known as a whisper tone or call waiting tone) is a
call-progress tone which indicates a new incoming call is either connecting or waiting depending on the application. Unlike a
ringtone, which alerts those near a telephone to answer it, a zip tone alerts someone already on the line—for example a
telephone operator,
call center
A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American spelling; see spelling differences) is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephone. ...
agent, or telephone subscriber with
call waiting
Call waiting is a telephone service where a subscriber can accept a second incoming telephone call by placing an in-progress call on hold—and may also switch between calls. With some providers it can be combined with additional features such as ...
service—that action is needed for an incoming call such as pressing a button or reciting a phrase (e.g. "May I help you?").
Tone composition and customization
The tone is typically a single, short burst (e.g. 440 Hz for 5 ms) but can also be customized with multiple bursts or tones to hint at the nature of the call, so the agent can answer the call with the appropriate greeting; or a subscriber may know that a specific caller is calling or number was dialed (see
distinctive ring).
In some
automatic call distribution
An automated call distribution system, commonly known as automatic call distributor (ACD), is a telephony device that answers and distributes incoming calls to a specific group of terminals or agents within an organization. ACDs direct calls based ...
applications the standard tone can be completely replaced with a digital recording of the agent speaking the answer phrase, thereby relieving them of the need to constantly repeat it, alerting the agent of an incoming call, and answering the call more quickly from the perspective of the caller.
See also
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Automatic Call Distribution
An automated call distribution system, commonly known as automatic call distributor (ACD), is a telephony device that answers and distributes incoming calls to a specific group of terminals or agents within an organization. ACDs direct calls based ...
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Call waiting
Call waiting is a telephone service where a subscriber can accept a second incoming telephone call by placing an in-progress call on hold—and may also switch between calls. With some providers it can be combined with additional features such as ...
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TSPS
The Traffic Service Position System (TSPS) was developed by Bell Labs in Columbus, Ohio to replace traditional cord switchboards. The first TSPS was deployed in 1969 and used the Stored Program Control-1A CPU, "Piggyback" twistor memory (a propr ...
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Telephone
A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...
References
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Telephony signals