The present invention discloses a method and apparatus for reducing the power
required by an integrated services hub supporting a plurality of telephone circuits,
comprising offsetting ringing of each of the plurality of telephone circuits such
that all the telephone circuits do not ring simultaneously. The step of offsetting
ringing of each of the plurality of telephone circuits preferably further comprises
providing each telephone circuit with a ring cadence comprising a ringing interval
and a non-ringing interval and defining a starting point for the ringing interval
within each telephone circuit's ring cadence such that the starting point for the
ringing interval for at least one telephone circuit falls substantially outside
the ringing intervals of the remaining telephone circuits.