FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What exactly does Vitelity do?
A: Vitelity provides dial tone and telephone numbers that support local calling, long distance, international, toll free and fax services. In addition, we support many popular calling features such as 9-1-1 and Directory Listings.

Q: Will Vitelity help me setup my VoIP device(s)?
A: Due to the overwhelming number of VoIP/SIP devices in the market we are unable to provide configuration assistance. We do provide resources in our customer portal that will give you most of the information needed to get the device(s) talking to our network. Vitelity does have a Professional Services Group (PSG) that can be hired to help with advanced configuration and/or troubleshooting on the more popular platforms like Asterisk, and 3CX.

Q: What kind of phone do I need / do you recommend?
A: Vitelity services will work with most SIP-capable hardware or software. We do not sell any proprietary equipment for standard VoIP calling, but we do have recommendations for vendors whose service and equipment have been certified to work well with Vitelity. You can review them here: www.vitelity.com/partners/

Q: How many simultaneous calls can I have with the home and small business service?
A: Ten

Q: Can I keep my number in the local white/yellow pages?
A: Probably not. We do offer White Pages listing service but it web-based. However, you should contact your local White/Yellow Pages provider and see what their policy is for listing virtual or VoIP numbers in their directories.

Q: Your unlimited DID says it has 4 channels, how do I add more?
A: The unlimited DID is sold as-is and cannot be modified. To have more than 4 inbound channels, you will need to utilize pay-per-minute DIDs or virtual PRI options.

Q: Why do you have an unlimited inbound option, but no unlimited outbound?
A: Due to the nature of the telecom business, outbound dialing is extremely susceptible to fraud. Vitelity reduces risk in this area by offering pay-per-minute plans only. We do not offer any unlimited dial-out options.

Q: What is the difference between an unlimited DID and a virtual PRI?
A: The unlimited DID is a pre-packaged service that includes all inbound calling on a telephone number with up to 4 simultaneous inbound calls. Each DID will have its own 4-channel capacity and cannot be combined with additional unlimited DIDs. A virtual PRI allows you the option to customize the number of channels you need (minimum of 2) as well as assign multiple DIDs to those channels.

Q: Why is my outbound caller ID not showing my company name?
A: The Caller ID Name which populates on the receiving end of an outbound call that you place is handled entirely by the Phone Service Provider of the individual on the receiving end of the call. This lookup is done using the number caller ID you use for your outgoing call. This can be set for each extension on your account. Some providers make a fresh query to the centralized LIDB (Line Information Database) on a per call basis and other providers use “cached” results which over time can become “stale.” For example, if the provider that is receiving the outbound call is not querying the centralized LIDB on incoming calls or is using “cached” or “stale” records from said database the Name Displayed on your call may be incorrect.

Vitelity does provide “good faith” support for outbound CNAM and does take responsibility for updating the appropriate databases each week. We cannot take responsibility for how third-party providers deliver your Caller ID Information on the receiving end of an outbound call from your Vitelity DID. Please feel free to submit a support ticket to troubleshoot persisting issues.

Q: How can I get an IVR set up:
A: As we are not a managed solution, we are unable to configure your device with IVR setup. However, we do offer professional recording services that will provide you with quality voice recording files intended to be upload to your IVR purposes.

Q: Why do I have to pay $35 to get an account?
A: Vitelity operates as a pre-paid service. The $35 is not a setup fee, but a deposit that funds your pre-paid account and is yours to use to begin purchasing products and using Vitelity services.

Q: What are the USF Rules?
A: As part of being a US telecommunications provider, we are required by the FCC to collect and pay into the Universal Service Fund. The USF rate is set quarterly by the FCC. Your billing statement will show all USF charges itemized for each month.

All voice resellers and providers have the option of collecting and paying into the USF fund directly.

Q: What is a USF fee?
A: USF stands for Universal Service Fund. This is a fee mandated by the FCC for all telecom providers to contribute to enhancing services throughout the US. The FCC rates vary between 16-18%. The fee is removed from all deposits and the remaining funds are yours to use for products and services.

Q: What if I need to dispute a charge?
A: You can call our main support line at 1-888-898-4835 and talk with a customer service associate or you can open a support ticket from within the customer portal. Note: Due to the Vitelity service being pre-paid with near real-time billing all disputed charges must be submitted within ten (10) days of that charge being applied to your account.

Q: What forms of payment do you accept?
A: We accept all major credits cards (Visa, MC, Amex, and Discover), Pay Pal, and bank wire (min $250 transfer).
Note: Initial setup of Pay Pal requires the use of a credit card.

Q: Can I have a free trial / test account?
A: We offer a full refund on the initial $35 deposit within 60-days of sign up. If for any reason you are not satisfied with available services during this time period, you may request a refund and close your account.

Q: What is a Sub-Account? Why am I required to add one when setting up my account?
A: Sub-Accounts are used as a way of allowing your phone hardware or software to “speak” to Vitelity. This can be via username and password (i.e. registration) or IP address (i.e. Authentication). Depending on your equipment, you can choose either of these methods to connect to Vitelity. You can add or remove these accounts at any time, but passwords cannot be modified for security purposes.

Q: What is a sub account?
A: Sub account Registration: Provides credentials used to configure your SIP device to connect with Vitelity’s network for voice calling purposes.
IP authentication: IP authentication will allow ONLY your IP to be authorized for traffic for your system to be completely in control of the security of your system.

Q: Why do I need to have authorized users to get help?
A: Authorized users can call in to discuss any account specific information and make any necessary changes with a Vitelity CSR. If you are not an authorized user, Vitelity is unable to make any changes or release any account specific information.

Q: Why does it take so long to port my number into Vitelity?
A: Unlike mobile carriers who are electronically bonded for number portability, VoIP providers use CLECs to move numbers to/from. In many situations there can be 5 or more entities (winning CLEC, losing CLEC, winning provider, losing provider, and the customer) involved in the porting process which makes for slower turn-around times.

Q: Why are there fees to port my number into Vitelity?
A: This fee is a pass-through. Most CLEC’s charge a port-in fee to move numbers on to their networks. Our fee is among the lowest in the industry.

Q: What if I need to move my Vitelity number to another provider?
A: Per FCC guidelines all numbers are portable. If you need to move your number to another provider you will need to submit the request through them and they will coordinate with their CLEC which in-turn will request the number to be ported from our CLEC.

Q: Do I need a PBX to use the Vitelity service?
A: You do not. A Private Branch Exchange or PBX is another form of a SIP end point that provides more advanced features for handling call traffic in an office environment.

Q: Do I need E911 on every number I get from Vitelity?
A: Per FCC guidelines you need to have at least one of your local numbers provisioned (per location) with E911 service

Q: Is Puerto Rico considered international?
A: Yes, because calling Puerto Rico requires dialing a 1 before the number. The rates are similar to those in the United States; however, you must have international calling enabled on your account.

Q: Does Vitelity provide SMS services?
A: Yes, we offer SMS services.

Q: Is there limit on outbound faxes?
A: Account fax limit: In a nutshell, each account has a cap of 50 daily outbound faxes and is usually and ample amount for a retail account. When an account needs to exceed this threshold we have to review traffic to verify legitimacy. Typically, there is not an issue to increase this value. The caveat being written in our Terms and Conditions that were agreed upon when creating the Vitelity account. Specifically citing the section speaking on spamming and immediate account deactivation if an account is found to be abusing the account privilege by spamming DIDs.

Q: What are the limitations with vFax?
A: You can also set a limit on how many each vFax account is allowed to send out each day, that does not affect the main Vitelity account amount.

• Each fax can be roughly 45 pages or 10 mb before running into any technical issues
• Can have up to 5 attachments for each fax JPG, PDF, Adobe PostScript, TIFF, Microsoft Word, Excel, CSV, HTML & Plain Text formats.

Server limitations

• Fax server holds faxes for up to 30 days
• Will attempt to send fax 3 times before failing any source or as soon as fax machine comes on-line, will send faxes through if fax completed elsewhere.
• Do not support ECM (error correction Mode) must be enabled on customer’s equipment

Q: How long does it take before I will receive my faxes?
A: Your fax messages should appear on the “VIEW FAXES” page within 5-10 minutes. Sometimes this timeframe can be exceeded due to unforeseen circumstances, but please be assured they will arrive as soon as possible.

Q: What is the default number setting for on the Fax Numbers page?
A: This setting allows you to specify which number should be used as the from-number when sending faxes with our VNFax software.

Q: How do I send faxes via Email with the Email-to-Fax service?

A: To send a fax using our Email-to-Fax service simply send an email using the following parameters. Emails should be sent with a single attachment; as our system will only fax a single attachment per email.

To: @emailyourfax.com
From: authorized@email_address.com
Subject:
Body:

Upon submission, our system will reply with a confirmation or rejection notice with an explanation.

New faxes sent with this service will be displayed on the “FAX STATUS” page with their current status.

Q: How do I add or remove Authorized Email addresses so I can send to [number@emailyourfax.com]?
A: To view or edit your list of current emailyourfax.com Authorized Email addresses please click here. If an edit menu does not exist, contact your account manager for permission.

Q: How do I change the email addresses that my new faxes are sent to when I receive them?
A: Click the Fax Numbers page and choose “Emails” under the Action menu. If this item does not exist on your screen, contact your account administrator to get access.