In
telephony
Telephony ( ) is the field of technology involving the development, application, and deployment of telecommunications services for the purpose of electronic transmission of voice, fax, or data, between distant parties. The history of telephony is ...
, 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 (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American English, American spelling; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences) is a managed capability th ...
agent, or telephone subscriber with
call waiting service—that action is needed for an incoming call such as pressing a button or reciting a phrase (e.g. "May I help you?"). This way of offering an incoming call to an available call center agent is also referred to as 'call forcing' or 'forced calling'.
Tone composition and customization
The tone is typically a single, short burst (e.g. 440 hertz for 5 milliseconds) 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 or automatic call dispatcher (ACD), is a telephony device that answers and distributes incoming calls to a specific group of terminals or agents within an organiz ...
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 or automatic call dispatcher (ACD), is a telephony device that answers and distributes incoming calls to a specific group of terminals or agents within an organiz ...
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Call waiting
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TSPS
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Telephone
A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables 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 ...
References
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Telephony signals