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VYL Media Review: VoIP |
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| Great call quality, no-committment contract, and excellent customer service | |
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VYL stands for VoIP Your Life, and while the name may be silly, they do a lot of things right. While their plans are not the cheapest, they probably win the award as the most no-nonsense VoIP provider we reviewed. This is not to say they're perfect, their rates are a little high, but we certainly like the way they do business.
Setup is pretty easy, and is easily outlined in the included instructions. The VoIP converter is the standard Linksys model and it comes a little generically packaged. That's ok, since that packaging will just end up in the recycling later. Not everything has to be an Apple-inspired exercise it packaging fetishism. Once set up, we found the call quality bright and clear. If you don't dial a 1 before the area code (even on local calls) there will be 10-second dialing delay. Otherwise, calls go through quickly. If the packaging is lackluster, so is the VYL Media site. This is only important for certain bits of account management. The service also only includes 18 calling features, versus Vonage's 30, though we'd be hard pressed to tell you that this is a deal breaker. The chief disadvantage with VYL Media is actually the cost. All told, the prices are a bit high, particularly compared to Vonage or Lingo. But we were so impressed with the quality of the calling, the great customer service, and the honesty of the terms, we're tempted to say it's worth every penny, particularly if you hate commitment. The Premier Global Unlimited plan is $29.95 per month and covers close to 40 countries. The Premier Unlimited is the USA and Canada plan, and that runs you $23.97 per month. If you just want 500 minutes to the USA and Canada it's $14.97 per month. There's a low activation fee of $19.95 for any of the above plans. If you want to pay for a year up front you'll get free activation and two months of free service. It still comes out to 299.70 plus about $45 in unavoidable regulatory fees (this is part for the course with VoIP). What really impresses us about VYL media is the terms of the contract. It's all month-to-month with no disconnect or rebate recover fees (just send back the equipment when you're done). Some companies will charge you as much as $100 if you leave inside of twelve months, but not VYL Media. If you cancel the yearly plan, there's a prorated refund for unused months (calculated at the discount fee). Something else impressed us about VYL Media: the customer service. VYL Media's 24/7, non-outsourced tech support is fast and friendly. We were very surprised when we dialed their customer service line and reached an actual person; while we encountered some recorded hold messages, we never once encountered a computerized menu system. This is a rarity. The following countries are included in the Global plan. The ** denotes that calls to cellular phones are included. Argentina (Buenos Aires) Australia Austria Belgium Brazil (Rio De Janiero, Sao Paolo) Canada ** Chile China ** Denmark France Germany Greece Hong Kong ** Hungary (Budapest) Ireland Israel Italy Mexico (Mexico City, Monterey, Guadalajara) Netherlands Norway Poland Puerto Rico ** Portugal Russia (Moscow and St. Petersburg) Singapore ** South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan United Kingdom US Virgin Islands US Virgin Isl ** Vatican City Venezuela (Caracas) |
| Plans: | Unlimited: $23.97; Global: $29.97; Basic: $14.97/mo plus 2.4¢/min; Global Unlimited Annual Plan: $287.70 |
| Setup Fees: | $19.95 activation; free shipping; free activation on annual plan |
| $ Back Guarantee & Cancel Policy: | None, but no disconnect fee; prorated refund on annual plan |
| Promotions: | Free hardware; Free virtual numbers; No commitments |
| Countries Included: | USA, Canada; Global plan includes 30 countries |
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