Abstract: A method for wide area overlapped ringing is disclosed wherein a primary destination is rung, and, if a no answer condition is encountered after an initial ringing threshold, a secondary destination is rung such that the ringing of the primary and secondary destinations at least partly overlap. Some embodiments involve the ringing of more than one secondary destination, where each secondary destination is rung for a set time and then halted. Other embodiments provide bridging capability for three-way calling. The disclosed method has wide area capability; thus, the secondary destination may comprise any destination accessible by the Publicly-Switched Telephone Network.