Most cell phone users are familiar with what a ringtone is but few are aware of a more recent addition called the ringback tone. What exactly are ringback tones? A ringback tone, also known on some cellular carriers as Answer Tones or CallerTunes (see below) is the ringing sound that a caller hears as they wait for the person they are calling to answer.
Traditional ringback tones are the standard, boring electronic buzz that lasts for about a second or so then repeats until the person answers. With a custom ringback tone this buzz can be replaced by hundreds of different choices from music to spoken word.
Costs Associated With Ringback Tones
The variety and costs associated with ringback tones varies from provider to provider, but in general a customer can expect to pay a couple of dollars to either purchase or license the use of a ringback tone.
Once that license has been purchased, the customer uses an Internet based interface to set up options for the ringback tone selected. Specific tones can be set up to only play for certain callers, or in some cases ringback tones can be set to change based on date or time of day.
A customer wishing to use custom ringback tones could easily set it up to play a specific song as the ringtone when the caller ID lookup says that it is their wife while selecting a completely different ringback tone to play when the caller ID shows that the person calling is their boss.
Ringback Tones For Sprint
In the case of Sprint ringback tones are known as Call Tones, and in addition to many musical call tones the company also provides a special section of "Name Tones" which are essentially verbal greetings customized with first names.
A user could purchase the Name Tone for Susan, assign it to their friend Susan's phone number, and then when Susan calls she would be greeted with something similar to: "Hello Susan, thanks for giving me a call, I'll be right with you." Sprint is also the only provider in this list that provides a selection of free ringback tones (although the monthly service fee still applies).
Ringback Tones For AT&T
On AT&T ringback tones are known as Answer Tones and sell for $1.99 each plus a monthly service charge. These answer tones also expire after a certain period of time, requiring the user to either renew the ringback tone or purchase a new one when the old one expires.
AT&T's Answer Tone section is found in the Ringtones and More section of their online store. The company also provides a very detailed set of frequently asked questions that details what Answer Tones are and how they work.
Ringback Tones For T-Mobile
T-Mobile's iteration of the ringback tone goes by the term CallerTunes and sell for $1.99 each plus $1.49 per month. CallerTunes are available for purchase through the downloads section of the Services portion of their web site.
Important Points To Consider When Buying Ringback Tones
Remember that in almost all cases ringback tones cost not only the upfront purchase costs but also an additional monthly subscription fee. Also keep in mind that on some carriers the ringback tones will expire after a certain length of time.
Be certain to read the fine print in any subscriber agreement and be ready for the possibility of these recurring costs associated with the use of custom ringback tones.
Chad Criswell - Chad Criswell is a professional educator and freelance technology writer for numerous online and print publications throughout the United ...
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