Endorsed by The New York Times and The Economist, WiTopia certainly does well in the first impressions stakes. Rebranded from the originally named Full Mesh Networks; WiTopia has been operating since 2003. Their aim has always been to supply "complicated and expensive security technology over the Internet as a set of managed services." They created their personalVPN in March 2005 to optimize their users' anonymity in a world of identity fraud and unsecured Wi-Fi connections. And so WiTopia was launched as the VPN service provider available today.

Once you register you receive a private WiTopia IP address; to shield your "public" address and location from any would-be hackers and tracers. Depending upon the package you choose your data is encrypted with either PPTP, L2TP, IPSEC protocols (as part of their basic subscription) or with the added oomph of OpenVPN SSL and their very own '4D Stealth' protocol if you choose their Pro package. The Pro package comes complete with 256-bit encryption servers for those concerned about being "pursued by extra-terrestrials, the Illuminati, or it just makes you feel better, we’re happy to provide it." The Basic package comes with 128-bit encryption.

Witopia's server network comprises roughly 250 over 67 cities around the world, and that's just physical servers. Adding in the amount of different types of connections you can run through them and they have a few thousand different gateways that you can utilize. Although impressive in size, it is not a tier-1 network, meaning half of them are managed by third party companies, though they claim they are "the best companies in their respected local jurisdictions."

WiTopia prides themselves on compatibility with an extensive array of devices. All of which come with their own setup guides including good screenshots. They do not monitor or keep any logs of your browsing activity. They do declare a trailing log of indirect data being kept for about a week, to identify any breaches and protect themselves. This is destroyed on a regular basis.

So let's break down their two subscriptions packages;
WiTopia personalVPN (Basic)
Access to all the cities and countries available across the WiTopia network. But as mentioned OpenVPN is not available, only PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, and Cisco IPSec.

WiTopia personalVPN (Pro)
A full list of servers, and the added bonus of OpenVPN for safer, faster browsing/streaming.

Their Customer Support features are flawless; online chat 24/7 for 365 days of the year, or email them to create an instant support ticket with their technical staff. If you're a Do It Yourselfer, they also have four support links to troubleshooting issues and fixes, guides for setting up and using their VPN service, and extensive information on speed and VPN comparisons.

WiTopia offers an overall good service, but though first impressions were top-notch, upon closer consideration, they aren't offering anything different to other VPN providers concerning speed. Their Customer Support is incredible, but I'm not sure that balances with having to pay extra for the OpenVPN and SSL 256-bit services. OpenVPN offers the easiest setup possible, and the most reliable security, it also ensures the quickest speeds overall when compared to PPTP or L2TP. Unfortunate then that it doesn't come as standard for WiTopia.