I don't know how they do it in the US, but over here in the UK, the only reason you might pay for changing your ringtone is if you used a special service that allows you to pick from their library of ringtones. Normally those services use 090 numbers, so it's a premium number which costs quite a lot.

However, most phones here also allow you to change your ringtone manually, either by putting in the notes manually (if it's a monophonic phone - the type that bleeps) or by using your computer to transfer a MIDI file over (if it's a polyphonic phone, which sound much better). There's no charge for doing it yourself.

- Ciaran.