DTMF, tone dialing, Dual Tone Multi Frequency



DTMF (Dual Tone Multi Frequency) is a dual-tone signaling system similar to tone dialing used in telephones. The term DTMF is also used to refer to tone dialing itself. A synonym for this term is "Touchtone" (not widely used, as Touchtone is a registered trademark of AT&T). In DTMF mode, when a telephone key is pressed, a sound (tone) is generated that is a combination of two frequencies — one high and one low. Hence the name “Dual” (double).

The DTMF signaling system includes eight tones, specifically chosen so that they can be transmitted through the telephone network without attenuation and with minimal mutual interference. Since these tones fall within the frequency range of the human voice, additional measures were introduced to prevent voice from being mistaken for dialing tones. One such measure is dividing the tones into two groups: high-frequency and low-frequency. The table below lists DTMF tones for various digits (and control keys) on a push-button telephone and their corresponding frequency pairs. One hertz (Hz) is a frequency equal to one cycle per second.

Using tone dialing, it is possible to easily control computer telephony applications by responding to system prompts through pressing keys on the telephone keypad.

Digit     Low Frequency     High Frequency

  1           697 Hz             1209 Hz

  2           697                1336

  3           697                1447

  4           770                1209

  5           770                1336

  6           770                1447

  7           852                1209

  8           852                1336

  9           852                1477

  0           941                1336

  *           941                1209

  #           941                1477