"Soft" Dial Tones
A "soft" dial tone, less often called "secondary" dial tone or "express" dial tone, is audibly the same as a regular one, except that there is no actual service active on the line, and normal calls cannot be made. It is maintained only so that an attached phone can dial the emergency telephone number (such as 9-1-1, 1-1-2 or 9-9-9), in compliance with the law in most places. It can sometimes call the business office of the local exchange carrier which owns or last leased the line, such as via 6-1-1. Other functions such as ringback or ANAC may also be accessed by technicians in order to facilitate installation or activation.
Often, a new telephone number is assigned to the line so that it can function, but callback is restricted, and end-users do not know the number. These numbers may be outside the normal range used for regular lines, potentially causing trouble when telephone numbering plans are changed.
Deactivated lines can also be maintained with no dial tone at all, while still connected to and powered by the switch, in a state sometimes called INB or Installation Busy.
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—Bible: New Testament, Matthew 11:7-9.
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—Thomas Mann (1875–1955)