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Glossary · Voice technology

What is Call waiting?

  • Also called: call is waiting, second call alert

Reviewed by Sujan ThapaliyaLast updated

Definition

Call waiting alerts you to a second incoming call while you are already on one, letting you switch between them. The first caller hears nothing; the second hears ringing rather than a busy signal, which is why they cannot tell you are already talking.
The three STIR/SHAKEN attestation levels, which underpin how call waiting behaves in practice: A asserts both that the carrier knows the customer and that the customer may use the calling number, B asserts the customer only, and C asserts neither. A shared number pool can reach B at best, which is why number ownership keeps recurring in these definitions.
Attestation is the backdrop to most caller-ID and deliverability terms, call waiting included.

In practice

How call waiting actually works

The tone is generated by the network, not the handset, which is why it behaves differently across carriers and why disabling it is a line setting rather than a phone setting.

On a business line, call waiting is usually the wrong tool. It puts the decision on the person already in a conversation, and both callers get a worse experience than a queue would give them.

The replacement is routing: a queue with position announcements, an overflow rule, or simultaneous ring to a colleague. Each of those handles the second caller without interrupting the first.

On a business line the feature also creates a data problem: the second call frequently never appears as a missed call anywhere, because it was presented and dismissed rather than unanswered. Teams reviewing missed-call reports therefore undercount exactly the calls they most want to find.

Worked example

Two callers, one line: the first is interrupted by a tone, the second hears normal ringing and concludes they were ignored. A queue serves both better than the feature does.

Call waiting: common questions

What does 'call is waiting' mean?
That a second call is arriving while you are on the phone. The alert tone is the network telling your handset there is another call it can present to you.
Can the second caller tell I am on another call?
No. They hear normal ringing, which is why an unanswered second call reads to them as being ignored rather than as your line being busy.
Should a business use call waiting?
Usually not. A queue, an overflow rule or a second person answering handles the same situation without interrupting the conversation already in progress.

Sources

  1. Combating Spoofed Robocalls with Caller ID Authentication — Federal Communications CommissionThe STIR/SHAKEN framework, the attestation levels carriers sign calls with, and the mandate requiring providers to authenticate caller ID.
  2. 47 U.S.C. § 227 — Restrictions on the use of telephone equipment — Cornell Legal Information InstituteThe Telephone Consumer Protection Act itself — the consent requirements, calling-hours limits, and private right of action.
  3. ITU-T Recommendation E.164 — The international public telecommunication numbering plan — International Telecommunication UnionThe international number format, the 15-digit maximum, and how country codes and national numbers compose.

See call waiting in the product

A call queue holds inbound callers in order and distributes them to whichever agent frees up next, instead of ringing one phone and failing. A callback option lets the caller keep their place and hang up, which is what actually reduces abandoned calls.

Explore call queuesGet early access