Mobile operators usually get nervous around the second half of the year, as it is during this period that the health of the company has to be presented to its shareholders. That’s why consumers will usually notice new plans and offers being introduced before mid-year, to get numbers up. In the case of Maxis, the re-surging telco launched a range of services, MaxisOne Plan, DataPool and Hotlink FAST, while Digi had DigiLive and DigiBest all promising more data at better value.

Reporting their quarterly performance, both carriers had a bump in subscriber base and increase in revenue, seemingly the new offerings had vastly contributed to the results. Driven mostly by data, Maxis CEO, Morten Lundal attributed this to his customers who used to consume 2.5Gb of data per month were now using up to 3.1GB of data on average. Digi meanwhile, saw a 100% jump on its 4G network, its user base from 1.6 million last year rose to 3.1 million with overall subscriber base standing at 12.2 million. Albern Murty, CEO Digi Malaysia ecstatic with digi users experiencing internet on the network also admitted that the quarter was busy with intense competition however did benefit from a well-managed cost structure.

Maxis managed to stem customer dropouts with new data plans, and the fruits of its initiatives have helped the carrier add 18,000 new postpaid customers for the three months and 800,000 MaxisOne users in the last 12 months alone. Current base stands at 15 million. Both operators have marginal revenue growth, with Maxis performing much better with 22% on net profit while Digi saw 10% increase. Data is the key factor in both cases with smartphone penetration reaching saturation point and users appetite for rich content is ever increasing.

Maxis will have one-up over the rest and will continue to reap the rewards from the vast 4G coverage it has over other operators,