System, method and apparatus for providing simulated stutter dial tone from an IP end point device

1. A method for providing a simulated stutter dial tone comprising:

receiving a new voicemail notification message at a packet-based telephony device, the new voicemail notification message indicating that a new voicemail message is waiting in a voicemail box associated with a user of the packet-based telephony device;

determining whether the received new voicemail notification message includes a stutter dial tone signal;

detecting an off-hook status of the packet-based telephony device;

in response to a determination that the received new voicemail notification message does not include a stutter dial tone signal, generating a simulated stutter dial tone signal by the packet-based telephony device; and

providing the simulated stutter dial tone signal to an audio reproduction device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the simulated stutter dial tone signal is generated for a predetermined time period after detecting the off-hook status of the packet-based telephony device.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

displaying a message waiting indication if the audio reproduction device is in a muted state, the message waiting indication providing a visual indication that the new message is waiting the voicemail box.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a voicemail status change notification message at the packet-based telephony device, the voicemail status change notification message indicating that no new voicemail messages are waiting in the voicemail box;

detecting an off-hook status of the packet-based telephony device; and

generating a normal dial tone in response to receiving the voicemail status change notification message and detecting the off-hook status of the packet-based telephony device.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the simulated stutter dial tone signal includes a first tone having a frequency of approximately 350 Hz and a second tone having a frequency of approximately 440 Hz.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein each of the first tone and the second tone have a signal power of at least −20 dBm.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the simulated stutter dial tone signal has a cadence timing of approximately 120 ms.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the simulated stutter dial tone signal is generated for at least five on/off cycles after detecting the off-hook status.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the voicemail box is stored in a network voicemail system.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the packet-based telephony device is an IP phone.

11. A packet-based telephony device comprising:

a memory;

at least one processor, the at least one processor configured to retrieve computer-readable instructions from the memory and execute the computer-readable instructions so as to receive a new voicemail notification message at a packet-based telephony device, the new voicemail notification message indicating that a new voicemail message is waiting in a voicemail box associated with a user of the packet-based telephony device, and so as to determine whether the received new voicemail notification message includes a stutter dial tone signal;

a hook status detector configured to detect an off-hook status of the packet-based telephony device;

a simulated stutter dial tone generator module configured to generate a simulated stutter dial tone signal in response to a determination that the received new voicemail notification message does not include a stutter tone signal and the detecting the off-hook status; and

an audio reproduction device configured to receive the simulated stutter dial tone signal.

12. The packet-based telephony device of claim 11 , wherein the simulated stutter dial tone generator module is configured to generate the simulated stutter dial tone signal for a predetermined time period after the detection of the off-hook status of the packet-based telephony device.

13. The packet-based telephony device of claim 11 , further comprising:

a display configured to display a message waiting indication if the audio reproduction device is in a muted state, the message waiting indication providing a visual indication that the new message is waiting the voicemail box.

14. The packet-based telephony device of claim 13 , wherein the message waiting indication is a pop-up window indicating that one or more new messages are waiting in the voicemail box.

15. The packet-based telephony device of claim 11 , wherein the simulated stutter dial tone signal includes a first tone having a frequency of approximately 350 Hz and a second tone having a frequency of approximately 440 Hz.

16. The packet-based telephony device of claim 15 , wherein each of the first tone and the second tone have a signal power of at least −20 dBm.

17. The packet-based telephony device of claim 11 , wherein the simulated stutter dial tone signal has a cadence timing of approximately 120 ms.

18. The packet-based telephony device of claim 11 , wherein the voicemail box is a network voice mail system.

19. The packet-based telephony device of claim 11 , wherein the packet-based telephony device is an IP phone.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer executable instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to:

receive a new voicemail notification message at a packet-based telephony device, the new voicemail notification message indicating that a new voicemail message is waiting in a voicemail box associated with a user of the packet-based telephony device;

determine whether the received new voicemail notification message includes a stutter dial tone signal;

detect an off-hook status of the packet-based telephony device;

generate a simulated stutter dial tone signal in response to a determination that the received new voicemail notification message does not include a stutter tone signal and detecting the off-hook status;

provide the simulated stutter dial tone signal to an audio reproduction device.