Telephone ringback test device and method

摘要

A device and method for testing a telephone circuit in which a caller takes advantage of available caller identification information to complete a ringback test without resort to potentially costly and overused toll trunks. The ringback test device is accessed by a caller (subscriber or craftsperson) who may not be aware of the telephone number from which he is calling when the caller completes a call to a telephone number assigned to the device. As the caller is accessing the test device, the test device detects the caller identification available between the first and second rings to identify the caller's telephone number, and answers the call after the second ring. The test device presents the telephone number to the caller, and the test device may thereafter be used to complete a ringback test to the identified telephone number. The caller ID information may also be display-formatted at the test device and provided to a caller's visual display.