Telephone feature code

A vertical service code (VSC) is a special code dialed prior to (or instead of) a telephone number that engages some type of special telephone service or feature. Typically preceded with an asterisk, or * (star), key on the touch tone keypad and colloquially referred to as star codes, most are two digits in length; as more services are developed, those that use 2 or 3 as the first digit are sometimes three digits in length.

In North American telephony, VSCs were developed by AT&T Corp. as Custom Local Area Signaling Services or CLASS codes (sometimes LASS) in the 1960s and 70s. Their use became ubiquitous throughout the 1990s and eventually became a recognized standard. As CLASS was an AT&T trademark, the term "vertical service code" was adopted by the North American Numbering Plan Administration. The use of the word "vertical" is a somewhat dated reference to older switching methods and the fact that these services can only be accessed by a local telephone subscriber, going up (or vertically) inside the local central office instead of out (or horizontally) to another telephone company.

The following are the VSCs generally used in the North American Numbering Plan. Not all of these services are available in all areas, and some are only available to landline or cellular telephones. Some require additional services be purchased from the telephone company to use them.

Local Area Signalling Services (LASS) and Custom Calling Feature Control Codes:

 This article incorporates public domain material from the General Services Administration document "Federal Standard 1037C".

...
Wikipedia