In addition to the new local numbers feature I mentioned Monday, callback/VoIP company Jajah has another new offering. According to El Reg, users will be able to opt-in to hear advertising instead of a normal ringing tone when they place a call.

The way the service is described, if I make calls through Jajah, I can choose to hear ads instead of the normal ringing sound while I wait for the person I’m calling to pick up. In exchange, I’d receive call credits.

This sort of idea’s been around for some time — for instance, there was a company back in the late ’90s that gave you a few free minutes of long-distance calling if you listened to some ads first. The implementation of that idea wasn’t so great, though, and unsurprisingly the company went out of business. I think the Jajah one’s much better, since users opt in to hearing the ads, and they’re not foisted upon anybody who’s not asked to hear them. Many users are likely to see the time they spend listening to the beep of the ringing tone as something of a sunk cost, and this offers a way to monetize it.

On a deeper level, though, it’s just yet another area advertising looks to invade. Can it offer enough benefit to make it tolerable or worthwhile?