Current postpaid plans, though appealing to data-hungry consumers, are not so friendly towards folks who make frequent calls and text messages. Telcos charge subscribers for every text message and call by the minute, making them opt for online-based solutions when they are able. This results in lost revenue for the telcos, as they are still voice-driven. Maxis, trying to evolve to a more data-centric telco, unveils the new MaxisONE plan and MaxisONE plan lite, Internet plans that offer limitless talk or text. The term “limitless” is perhaps to make it stand out from the normal “unlimited” moniker so commonly used by telcos.

The plan encompasses four “free” aspects: Free to talk, free to SMS, free to surf, and free to roam. Only the first two really live up to that claim however. Subscribers get to make unlimited voice calls across all networks (including fixed lines) as well as unlimited text messaging. The MaxisONE plan lite only limits the “limitless” (heh, ironic, isn’t it?) to Maxis/Hotlink numbers. Reading the fine print, the limitless calls and SMS bundled is subject to a Fair Usage Policy of 3000 call minutes and 3000 SMS, following which pay-per-use rates will apply. For data, the MaxisONE plan lite gets 1GB of high-speed Internet, while the non-lite variants have 2GB and 3GB. There are no extra charges levied upon exceeding your quota – par for the course for most Internet plans, but you have the option to add more data to your plan, with RM30/month amounting to an extra 1GB of high-speed Internet bandwidth to consume. Data roaming is set at RM38 per day.

There are three pricing tiers for the MaxisONE plan. The MaxisONE plan lite (limitless calls limited to Maxis/Hotlink numbers) is priced at RM 78 monthly, while the MaxisONE plan proper is priced at RM 128 monthly (for 2GB of Internet data) and RM 158 monthly (3GB). Of course, there will be device bundles, which include flagship devices like the HTC One M8, Samsung GALAXY S5 and the Sony Xperia Z2.