Dual-tone multi-frequency signaling

Dual-tone multi-frequency signaling (DTMF) is used for telecommunication

signaling over analog telephone lines in the voice-frequency band between telephone
handsets and other communications devices and the switching center. The version of
DTMF used for push-button telephone tone dialing is known as Touch-Tone, first
used by AT&T in commerce as a registered trademark, and is standardized by ITU-T
Recommendation Q.23. It is also known in the UK as MF4.

Other multi-frequency systems are used for internal signaling within the telephone
network.

A DTMF keypad from an Autovon Telephone. The column of red keys produces the
A, B, C, and D DTMF events, labeled by their telephony function.

[edit] Multifrequency signaling

Prior to the development of DTMF, telephone systems employed pulse dialing (Dial
Pulse or DP in the U.S.) or loop disconnect (LD) signaling to dial numbers. It
functions by rapidly disconnecting and re-connecting the calling party's telephone
line, similar to flicking a light switch on and off. The repeated interruptions of the
line, as the dial spins, sounds like a series of clicks. The exchange equipment counts
these dial pulses to determine the dialed number. Loop disconnect range was
restricted by telegraphic distortion and other technical problems, and placing calls
over longer distances required either operator assistance (operators used an earlier
kind of multi-frequency dial) or the provision of subscriber trunk dialing equipment.

Multifrequency signaling (see also MF) is a group of signaling methods, that use a
mixture of two pure tone (pure sine wave) sounds. Various MF signaling protocols
were devised by the Bell System and CCITT. The earliest of these were for in-band
signaling between switching centers, where long-distance telephone operators used a
16-digit keypad to type the next portion of the destination telephone number in order
to contact the next downstream long-distance telephone operator. This semi-
automated signaling and switching proved successful in both speed and cost
effectiveness. Based on this prior success with using MF by specialists to establish
long-distance telephone calls, Dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signaling was
developed for the consumer to signal their own telephone-call's destination telephone
number instead of talking to a telephone operator.
Due to DTMF over analog telephone lines in the voice-frequency band between
telephone handsets and other communications-terminating devices and the switching
center, the previously semiautomated system that needed human intervention from a
telephone operator, who then dialed a sequence of MF digits that were then routed
and switched via automation. AT&Ts Compatibility Bulletin No. 105, AT&T
described the product as "a method for pushbutton signaling from customer stations
using the voice transmission path." In order to prevent using a consumer telephone to
interfere with the MF-based routing and switching between telephone switching
centers, DTMF's frequencies differ from all of the pre-existing MF signaling
protocols between switching centers: MF/R1, R2, CCS4, CCS5, and others that were
later replaced by SS7 digital signaling. DTMF as used for push-button telephone tone
dialing was known throughout the Bell System by the trademark Touch-Tone. This
term was first used by AT&T in commerce on December 1, 1960 and then was
introduced to the public on November 18, 1963. It was AT&T's registered trademark
from September 4, 1962 to March 13, 1984,[1] and is standardized by ITU-T
Recommendation Q.23. It is also known in the UK as MF4.

Other vendors of compatible telephone equipment called the Touch-Tone feature

Tone dialing or DTMF, or used their own registered trade names such as the Digitone
of Northern Electric, now known as Nortel Networks.

The DTMF system uses eight different frequency signals transmitted in pairs to
represent sixteen different numbers, symbols and letters - as detailed below.

As a method of in-band signaling, DTMF tones were also used by cable television
broadcasters to indicate the start and stop times of local commercial insertion points
during station breaks for the benefit of cable companies. Until better out-of-band
signaling equipment was developed in the 1990s, fast, unacknowledged, and loud
DTMF tone sequences could be heard during the commercial breaks of cable channels
in the United States and elsewhere.[citation needed]

[edit] #, *, A, B, C, and D
The engineers[who?] had envisioned[when?] phones being used to access computers, and
surveyed a number of companies to see what they would need for this role. This led to
the addition of the number sign (#, sometimes called 'octothorpe' or 'pound' in this
context - 'hash' or 'gate' in the UK) and asterisk or "star" (*) keys as well as a group of
keys for menu selection: A, B, C and D. In the end, the lettered keys were dropped
from most phones, and it was many years before these keys became widely used for
vertical service codes such as *67 in the United States and Canada to suppress caller
ID.

Public payphones that accept credit cards use these additional codes to send the
information from the magnetic strip.

The U.S. military also used the letters, relabeled, in their now defunct Autovon phone
system[2]. Here they were used before dialing the phone in order to give some calls
priority, cutting in over existing calls if need be. The idea was to allow important
traffic to get through every time. The levels of priority available were Flash Override
(A), Flash (B), Immediate (C), and Priority (D), with Flash Override being the highest
priority. Pressing one of these keys gave your call priority, overriding other
conversations on the network. Pressing C, Immediate, before dialing would make the
switch first look for any free lines, and if all lines were in use, it would disconnect any
non-priority calls, and then any priority calls. Flash Override will kick every other call
off the trunks between the origin and destination. Consequently, it was limited to the
White House Communications Agency.

Precedence dialing is still done on the military phone networks, but using number
combinations (Example: Entering 93 before a number is a priority call) rather than the
separate tones and the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service has
superseded Autovon for any civilian priority telco access.

Present-day uses of the A, B, C and D keys on telephone networks are few, and
exclusive to network control. For example, the A key is used on some networks to
cycle through different carriers at will (thereby listening in on calls). Their use is
probably prohibited by most carriers. The A, B, C and D tones are used in amateur
radio phone patch and repeater operations to allow, among other uses, control of the
repeater while connected to an active phone line.

DTMF tones are also used by some cable television networks and radio networks to
signal the local cable company/network station to insert a local advertisement or
station identification. These tones were often heard during a station ID preceding a
local ad insert. Previously, terrestrial television stations also used DTMF tones to shut
off and turn on remote transmitters.

DTMF signalling tones can also be heard at the start or end of some VHS (Video
Home System) cassette tapes. Information on the master version of the video tape is
encoded in the DTMF tone. The encoded tone provides information to automatic
duplication machines, such as format, duration and volume levels, in order to replicate
the original video as closely as possible.

DTMF tones are sometimes used in caller ID systems to transfer the caller ID
information, however in the USA only Bell 202 modulated FSK signaling is used to
transfer the data.

A DTMF can be heard on most Whelen Outdoor Warning systems.

[edit] Keypad
Main article: Telephone keypad
1209 Hz on 697 Hz to make the 1 tone

The DTMF keypad is laid out in a 4×4 matrix, with each row representing a low
frequency, and each column representing a high frequency. Pressing a single key
(such as '1' ) will send a sinusoidal tone for each of the two frequencies (697 and 1209
hertz (Hz)). The original keypads had levers inside, so each button activated two
contacts. The multiple tones are the reason for calling the system multifrequency.
These tones are then decoded by the switching center to determine which key was
pressed.

DTMF keypad frequencies (with sound clips)

1209 Hz 1336 Hz 1477 Hz 1633 Hz
697 Hz 1 2 3 A
770 Hz 4 5 6 B
852 Hz 7 8 9 C
941 Hz * 0 # D

[edit] Special tone frequencies

National telephone systems define additional tones to indicate the status of lines,
equipment, or the result of calls with special tones. Such tones are standardized in
each country and may consist of single or multiple frequencies. Most European
countries use a single frequency, where the United States uses a dual frequency
system, presented in the following table.

Event Low frequency High frequency

Busy signal 480 Hz 620 Hz
Ringback tone (US) 440 Hz 480 Hz
Dial tone 350 Hz 440 Hz

The tone frequencies, as defined by the Precise Tone Plan, are selected such that
harmonics and intermodulation products will not cause an unreliable signal. No
frequency is a multiple of another, the difference between any two frequencies does
not equal any of the frequencies, and the sum of any two frequencies does not equal
any of the frequencies. The frequencies were initially designed with a ratio of 21/19,
which is slightly less than a whole tone. The frequencies may not vary more than
±1.8% from their nominal frequency, or the switching center will ignore the signal.
The high frequencies may be the same volume or louder as the low frequencies when
sent across the line. The loudness difference between the high and low frequencies
can be as large as 3 decibels (dB) and is referred to as "twist." The minimum duration
of the tone should be at least 70 ms, although in some countries and applications
DTMF receivers must be able to reliably detect DTMF tones as short as 45ms.

As with other multi-frequency receivers, DTMF was originally decoded by tuned

filter banks. Late in the 20th century most were replaced with digital signal
processors. DTMF can be decoded using the Goertzel algorithm.