The minimum length of telephone numbers is three digits and the maximum is twelve. Apart from the capital and Milan, which have the sole two-digit codes, principal cities/regions have three-digit codes and smaller towns have four-digit codes.
Mobile telephone service Mobile telephone numbers start with the digit
3 and are generally ten digits long. It is still possible, but rare, to find nine-digit numbers, which were the first to be assigned. The group of the first three digits of a mobile telephone number (
prefix) identifies the
mobile network operator that assigned the number, but since 2002,
mobile number portability is possible and thus any number can end up being managed by any carrier. Some network operators allow the caller to insert additional digits for redirecting calls to voice mail. For example, dialing, "
363397550176" might connect to the voice mail service of the telephone number "3397550176". The extra digits vary based on the network operator managing the service.
Emergency and service numbers Emergency and service numbers start with the digit
1. Four emergency numbers are currently in use, but a process has been started to consolidate them with
112, previously assigned to the gendarmerie, already the
unique emergency number in some areas. Calls to 112 are answered within seconds and in multiple languages. • "113": State Police (
Polizia di Stato) • "115": National Fire Department (
Vigili del Fuoco) • "117": Financial Gendarmerie (
Guardia di Finanza); • "1254": Directory service provided by
Telecom Italia, major national operator; • "15xx": Public utility services; • "1515": Fire department (forestry), handled by
Corpo Forestale dello Stato;
Special-rate numbers Special-rate numbers start with
8 and include
toll-free numbers (called
green numbers,
numeri verdi in Italian, starting with "80..."), shared-rate numbers ("84...") and premium-rate services ("89...").
Other numbers Numbers starting with
4 are used for network-specific phone services like voice mailbox and various information services; they can be free, non-premium or premium. Included in this category are, among others: • "40...": free operator internal services; • "455...": fundraising services for social purposes by non-profit agencies, organizations and associations and government; • "47...": mass call services; The digit
5 has been reserved for
VoIP numbers. Finally
7 is used for internet services such as virtual fax numbers and dial up internet access ("70...").
Unassigned numbers Numbers starting with the digits
2,
6 and
9 are currently unassigned and reserved for future purposes. == Historical number formats ==