<P> Telephone numbers are sometimes prefixed with special services, such as vertical service codes, that contain signaling events other than numbers, most notably the star (*) and the number sign (#). Vertical service codes enable or disable special telephony services either on a per - call basis, or for the station or telephone line until changed . The use of the number sign is most frequently used as a marker signal to indicate the end of digit sequences or the end of other procedures; as a terminator it avoids operational delays when waiting for expiration of automatic time - out periods . </P> <P> Australian films and television shows do not employ any recurring format for fictional telephone numbers; any number quoted in such media may be used by a real subscriber . The 555 code is used in the Balmain area of Sydney and the suburbs of Melbourne . Although in many areas being a prefix of 55 plus the thousand digit of 5 (e.g. 55 5XXX), would be valid, the numbering system was changed so that 555 became 9555 in Sydney and Melbourne, and in the country, there are 2 new digits ahead of the 55 . </P> <P> However, elsewhere, as in the United States, fictitious telephone numbers are often used in films and on television to avoid disturbances by calls from viewers . For example, The United States 555 (KLondike - 5) exchange code was never assigned (with limited exceptions such as 555 - 1212 for directory assistance). Therefore, American films and TV shows have used 555 - xxxx numbers, in order to prevent a number used in such a work from being called . </P> <P> The film Bruce Almighty (2003) originally featured a number that did not have the 555 prefix . In the cinematic release, God (Morgan Freeman) leaves 776 - 2323 on a pager for Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) to call if he needed God's help . The DVD changes this to a 555 number . According to Universal Studios, which produced the movie, the number it used was picked because it did not exist in Buffalo, New York, where the movie was set . However, the number did exist in other cities, resulting in customers' having that number receiving random calls from people asking for God . While some played along with the gag, others found the calls aggravating . </P>

What does an 11 digit phone number mean