Abstract: A method and system for efficiently coding ring tone data and other data for delivery to telephone handsets, such as in a mobile telephone network. In one aspect, the data are encoded using a compact, byte-aligned format that is easy to parse. The data are provided in code words having respective code portions (bit positions) that are correlated by their relative positions within the code word with a respective characteristic of the data, such as a ring tone (e.g., note, length, octave, and volume). Accordingly, there is no need to provide identifiers for each characteristic. In another aspect, special instructions (e.g., tempo changes and looping) for modifying ring tone data or other data are chained to a code word that contains the baseline (nominal) characteristics to maintain compatibility with telephones that do not recognize special instructions.