audible ringing tone

In telephony, a signal, usually consisting of an audio tone interrupted at a slow repetition rate, provided to a caller to indicate that the called-party instrument is being sent a ringing signal. Note: The audible ringing tone may be generated by the called-party servicing switch or by the calling-party servicing switch, but it is not generated by the called telephone instrument. Synonyms audible ringing, ringback tone.