Patent ID: 8478246

Claim:
A method for providing ringback tone in a communication network, comprising: subscribing, by the called terminal, to a real time ringback tone service; and saving subscription information in a Home Location Register (HLR) corresponding to the called terminal; sending, by the calling terminal, a calling request to the called terminal via an Originating Mobile Switching Center (O_MSC); obtaining, by the O_MSC, the subscription information and routing information of the called terminal from the HLR; sending, by the O_MSC, the calling request to the called terminal via a Terminating Mobile Switching Center (T_MSC); establishing a call connection between a calling terminal and a called terminal according to a calling request sent by the calling terminal; instructing, by at least one of the O_MSC and the T_MSC, a ringback tone unit to play a default ringback tone or a traditional ringback tone before the T_MSC receives the ringback tone indication value; receiving a ringback tone indication value from the called terminal; sending, by the T_MSC, the ringback tone indication value to the ringback tone unit; obtaining, by the ringback tone unit, a corresponding ringback tone according to the ringback tone indication value; stopping, by the ringback tone unit, playing the default ringback tone or the traditional ringback tone; and playing, by the ringback tone unit, the corresponding ringback tone on the calling terminal.