Abbreviated dialing is the use of a very short telephone number

Telephone number

A telephone number or phone number is a sequence of digits used to call from one telephone line to another in a public switched telephone network. When telephone numbers were invented, they were short — as few as one, two or three digits — and were given orally to a switchboard operator...

 to reach public services

Public services

Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...

. Typically these are two or three digits, and are most commonly known as being emergency telephone number

Emergency telephone number

Many countries' public telephone networks have a single emergency telephone number, sometimes known as the universal emergency telephone number or occasionally the emergency services number, that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. The emergency telephone number may...

s like 9-9-9, 1-1-2

1-1-2

112 is the principal emergency telephone number that can be dialed free of charge from any telephone or any mobile phone in order to reach emergency services in the European Union , its candidates for accession, members of the EEA agreement, as well as several other countries in the world...

 and 9-1-1

9-1-1

9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...

. Other services may also be available this way, such as the N11 code

N11 code

An N11 code or N11 number is a special abbreviated dialing telephone number within the North American Numbering Plan, which allows access to special services. Each of these eight numbers prevents 10,000 telephone numbers from being used...

s in the NANP. Their purpose is to be universal, short, and easy to remember. For text messaging

Text messaging

Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...

, the technical equivalent is a short code

Short code

Short codes are special telephone numbers, significantly shorter than full telephone numbers, that can be used to address SMS and MMS messages from certain service provider's mobile phones or fixed phones...

, however these are rented by their private users rather than being universal and for public services.

Vertical service code

Vertical service code

A vertical service code or VSC is a special code dialed prior to a telephone number that engages some type of special telephone service...

s may also be considered as abbreviated dialing, though these prefix the special touch-tone characters * and # (or often 11 for pulse dialing

Pulse dialing

Pulse dialing, dial pulse, or loop disconnect dialing, also called rotary or decadic dialling in the United Kingdom , is pulsing in which a direct-current pulse train is produced by interrupting a steady signal according to a fixed or formatted code for each digit and at a standard pulse repetition...

) instead of using only numeral

Numeral system

A numeral system is a writing system for expressing numbers, that is a mathematical notation for representing numbers of a given set, using graphemes or symbols in a consistent manner....

s. Most are used to access calling features rather than a called party

Called party

The called party is a person who answers a telephone call. The person who initiates a telephone call is the calling party....

, and some are specific to each telephone company

Telephone company

A telephone company is a service provider of telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications access. Many were at one time nationalized or state-regulated monopolies...

. Some are used only locally or regionally, such as the former *DOT (*368) to reach the Georgia DOT in Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, or other codes as short as one numeral (like *1) used to report breaking news

Breaking news

Breaking news, also known as a special report or news bulletin, is a current event that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming and/or current news in order to report its details. Many times, breaking news is used after the news network has already reported on this story...

 or traffic

Traffic

Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...

 to the newsroom

Newsroom

A newsroom is the place where journalists—reporters, editors, and producers, along with other staffers—work to gather news to be published in a newspaper or magazine or broadcast on television, cable or radio...

s of local news radio

News Radio

News Radio can refer to:* NewsRadio, the NBC sitcom which aired from 1995–1999.* News radio, the all-news or news/talk radio format....

 or TV stations.