A vertical service code or VSC is a special
telephone number that usually begins with the * (star) key on the
touch tone keypad. Most codes are two digits, although those starting with 2 or 3 are now usually three digits. Some
cellular telephone companies also use # instead of *, though this is actually just a short number typically used for other commercial services (e.g.
pizza delivery), and not a VSC for accessing telephone company services. In some cases VSCs can be accessed from
rotary phones by dialing 11 instead of the *.
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