The present invention relates to the operation of interconnected switches or
call centers. In particular, the present invention allows communication bandwidth
to be conserved, by providing audible feedback from a switch that is relatively
local to a caller, even though a call center that is remote to the caller has accepted
responsibility for routing the call to an agent. In addition, the present invention
simplifies the administration of audible feedback by allowing such feedback to
be provided from a centralized or common location. The present invention allows
for the reliable operation of call center arrangements, without requiring that
communication channels interconnecting switches or call centers that are grossly
oversized in proportion to the data required to be carried in association with
conversations between callers and agents. In addition, the present invention allows
for call center processing features to be fully functional on a receiving switch,
while audible feedback is provided to a caller on hold from a sending switch.