Customers are really getting spoilt for choice when it comes to postpaid plans. After Celcom and Digi announced their latest offering, Maxis went out to boost their current MaxisONE Plans with even more data.
On top of that, they have also upgraded their MaxisONE Share supplementary lines with a new DataPool feature. Similar to U Mobile’s Hero Postpaid Plus, DataPool lets you combine your overall data and you can share it across your supplementary accounts.
So which postpaid plan is the best for your household? Read on to find out.
Maxis
To recap Maxis’ latest offering, their MaxisONE Plan now comes with up to 20GB of data per month. On top of its unlimited voice and SMS bundling, the MaxisONE 98 still retains the last upgraded 5GB of quota, but the next MaxisONE 128 now gets 10GB of data. Meanwhile, MaxisONE 158 gets 15GB and their top of the line MaxisONE 188 gets 20GB.
What’s new is their upgraded MaxisONE Share, where you can add additional supplementary lines (RM48/month) that comes with unlimited calls, SMS and 5GB of shared data. To make sharing easier, Maxis DataPool lets you share data between principal and supplementary lines which is somewhat similar to U Mobile’s Hero Plus Postpaid.
For greater control, the principal line can manage how much data quota each supplementary line gets from the Maxis App. As an added bonus, Maxis is throwing extra 5GB/month of data video streaming quota for the principal line which is usable for iflix, viu, Eros now and hopster.
Digi
For Digi, nothing much has changed since the last update. Following Maxis’ latest upgrade, Digi has increased its Digi Postpaid 238 (More Internet) data quota from 20GB to 30GB. Hitting the sweet spot is still their Postpaid 80 (More Calls & SMS) that offers 7GB (Anytime) + 3GB (Weekend) data and unlimited calls for RM80/month. Unlike the rest, Digi seems to have done away with dedicated supplementary plans.
Instead, principal subscribers of Postpaid 48 and above can register additional Digi postpaid lines underneath them. The rest of the plan bundling remains unchanged and all you get is free calls and SMS between principal and supplementary lines.
Celcom
Celcom is probably having the simplest approach for postpaid. You get just 3 choices – FIRST Blue at RM45/month, FIRST Gold at RM80/month and FIRST Platinum at RM150/month. All three FIRST Plans are now extended until 31 May 2016. For additional lines, they have their usual FIRST 1+5 supplementary plan.
At RM30/month you get 500MB of data, 50 minutes of calls and 50 SMS to all network. Also included is free calls and SMS between principal and supplementary lines. For the price, family members that need more data would be better off getting a FIRST Blue plan that offers 4GB of mobile data for RM15/month more.
U Mobile
U Mobile has also extended its Hero Postpaid plan extra 8GB data offer until 31 December 2016. For RM70/month, it still a bargain offering a combined 15GB of data, unlimited calls and SMS. For additional lines for sharing, each Share 50 Member line costs RM50 and that gives you unlimited calls and extra 3GB of data that’s shared with the principal line.
U Mobile also lets you watch unlimited video streaming 24/7 with no data charges with Video-Onz. This covers 11 video platforms including iflix, YouTube, viu, HyppTV Everywhere, Youku and Tonton. Note that speeds on Video-Onz are capped at 1.5Mbps which is said to be enough for standard definition. If you want to stream at higher quality, there’s an option to turn Video-Onz off. The Video-Onz promo is offered until 31 July 2016.
Postpaid Plans under RM100
Postpaid Plans above RM100
[nextpage title=”Supplementary Plan options”]
Looking at the 4 telcos, only Maxis and U Mobile are offering supplementary postpaid plans that offer unlimited voice calls with data sharing. For the main line, U Mobile is the cheapest offering 7GB (+8GB extra) at RM70/month while MaxisONE starts off higher with 5GB at RM98/month. For supplementary lines, MaxisONE is more generous offering 5GB of extra shared data, unlimited calls and SMS for RM48/month. As a comparison, U Mobile’s Member 50 at RM50/month gives you 3GB of data and unlimited calls, while SMS are charged separately.
Depending on how much data and lines you need in a household, we’ve listed all possible options below for easy reference.
2 Lines
3 Lines
4 Lines
Conclusion
As always, before picking up a plan, there are other factors to consider. Ensure you’re getting a plan that suits your usage and take note of data splits if any. Some offers and benefits are time limited so do keep an eye out on the expiry as well.
Beyond the postpaid plan table, you would also need to take into account network coverage, customer service and additional value added services including roaming. We’ve said it before and we will say it again – what’s the point of having loads of data if you can’t use it at all? Which postpaid plan with supplementary lines is better for you? Let us know in the comments below.
