MaxisONE Prime was recently launched offering MaxisONE plan 188 and MaxisONE Home Broadband in a single plan. Maxis said the plan offers zero downtime, unlimited usage of Internet, voice and SMS. MaxisONE Prime starts from RM367/month.
Below are 5 reasons Why I won’t sign up for the MaxisONE Prime:
1. Expensive
The plans are costly and this is the main reason why I won’t sign up for MaxisONE Prime.
The MaxisONE Prime comes with the MaxisONE plan 188 postpaid which cost RM188/month and the MaxisONE Home Broadband plan (fibre) ranging from 30Mbps (RM179/month) up to 100Mbps (depending on area).
In comparison to the MaxisONE Prime, here are some cheaper alternatives:
TIME dotCom’s Home Fibre plans offer even more speeds at cheaper price compared to Maxis Fibre plans. TIME’s 100Mbps plan cost RM149/month and the company has been aggressive over the past year in expanding its coverage to more high rise buildings.
Here are some good postpaid plans combined with TIME’s Home Fibre which are cheaper compared to MaxisONE Prime (starts from RM367/month with Fibre 30Mbps):
- TIME’s 100Mbps Fibre Home Broadband (RM149/month) + U Mobile P78 Postpaid Plan (RM78/month Unlimited Internet & Calls) = RM227/month
- TIME’s 100Mbps Fibre Home Broadband (RM149/month) + Two U Mobile P78 Postpaid Plan (RM156/month, Unlimited Internet & Calls) = RM305/month
- TIME’s 100Mbps Fibre Home Broadband (RM149/month) + Celcom FIRST Gold (RM80/month, 20GB Internet, Unlimited Calls) = RM229/month
- TIME’s 100Mbps Fibre Home Broadband (RM149/month) + Celcom FIRST Gold Plus (RM98/month, 40GB Internet, Unlimited Calls) = RM247/month
- TIME’s 100Mbps Fibre Home Broadband (RM149/month) + Celcom FIRST Gold Supreme (RM128/month, 50GB Internet, Unlimited Calls) = RM277/month
- TIME’s 100Mbps Fibre Home Broadband (RM149/month) + Celcom FIRST Platinum (RM148/month, 60GB Internet, Unlimited Calls & SMS) = RM297/month
- TIME’s 100Mbps Fibre Home Broadband (RM149/month) + Celcom FIRST Platinum Plus (RM188/month, 100GB Internet, Unlimited Calls & SMS) = RM337/month
- TIME’s 100Mbps Fibre Home Broadband (RM149/month) + Digi Postpaid Infinite 150 (RM150/month, Unlimited Internet & Calls & 1,000 SMS) = RM299/month
Telekom Malaysia’s Unifi Advance 30Mbps fibre with webe mobile (Unlimited Internet, Voice, SMS) cost RM248/month and is also cheaper than MaxisONE Prime.
2. Not truly unlimited
Maxis promises “Endless data for your home and Mobile on Malaysia’s best 4G and Fibre network“.
This is not true, especially the part “….Malaysia’s best 4G and Fibre network”. Self recognition?
The MaxisONE Prime is subject to a Fair Usage Policy (FUP) which the FAQ states: “FUP is in place for quota on your home fibre and VOIP usage to avoid any excessive usage of quota or VOIP calls from your home fibre network.”
For the Maxis HomeFibre, no quota is defined which means the Telco could at its own discretion limit Internet speeds or usage of the service.
As for the postpaid plan, there is a 300GB data limit. This is mentioned only in the Terms & Condition section of the MaxisONE Prime:
“If the combined mobile data usage of your principal line and your shared lines exceed 300GB in a month, Maxis may at its absolute discretion limit the quality of video streaming to standard definition during peak hours.”
3. No Discounts
The MaxisONE Prime is not cheap. You don’t get any discounts for signing up for two plans or if you are a long time, loyal customer.
You would expect a Telco to learn from its previous mistakes, treat customers better and reward loyal ones. I don’t really see that happening here.
In comparison, existing Celcom FIRST Gold Plus, Gold Supreme, Platinum and Platinum Plus customers enjoy an additional RM15 rebate from their monthly Home Fibre bill, when they sign up for either Home Fibre 150 or 180.
Even TM offers a RM30 discount when users sign up for the Advance Plan 30Mbps Fibre (RM199/month) together with webe (RM79/month) at RM248/month.
4. Not truly Zero Downtime
Maxis says that its MaxisONE Prime offers Zero Downtime. This is not entirely true.
Maxis Home Fibre service rely on Telekom Malaysia’s High Speed Broadband Network (HSBB), similar to Unifi, all subject to downtime. At some point, Internet traffic (including voice) of the Maxis fibre service routes through the Maxis network.
What happens if the Maxis core network goes down, wouldn’t this affect both fibre and the Maxis mobile services? There no such thing as zero downtime for a network.
While the Telco says Zero Downtime, it doesn’t mention anything about 100% Uptime. The thing about Telcos, nothing appears to be as easy as what we think. There’s always the terms and conditions. I can’t find any further details on MaxisONE Prime Zero Downtime.
5. Not allowed to remove Backup SIM
The MaxisONE Prime router comes with an additional 4G LTE SIM, as a backup Internet connection. In the event the Maxis Home fibre service goes down (apparently Maxis is not confident with its uptime?), the router will automatically switch to the Maxis 4G network.
One would consider removing this “backup sim” and perhaps use it separately on a smartphone or other devices. Here’s what Maxis has to say about that:
“Customers are provided a 4G Data Only SIM Card as a MaxisONE Home Backup. This SIM Card is only used when MaxisONE Home is disconnected. While waiting for the Service(s) to be restored, you may be automatically connected to temporary internet through the Residential Gateway Modem (“RGW”) via Wireless Backup. You are strictly not allowed to remove the Maxis Equipment (including any SIM Card) from the RGW without Maxis’ written permission. Warranty may void and service may be barred if SIM Card is removed.“
Disclaimer: This is an opinion based article and it is the personal view of the writer. It does not necessarily represent the view of MalaysianWireless.
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