We found out that DiGi has just revised their DG50 postpaid plan which strives to give more value to its subscribers. When we look at it, it doesn’t look much different from the original DG50 launched nearly 2 years ago. The rates are still the same and even the billing block cycle is still 30 seconds.

Postpaid rates has been pretty stagnant lately and old fashion price war is not heading anywhere. So what’s new with DiGi postpaid? If they can’t cut the rates, they give further discounts depending on your total bill spend.

So does this translate to big savings? Well, Yes and No.

Call rates for DG50 are the same 13 sen/minute for voice calls, 10 sen/SMS and 20 sen/MMS to all networks. What’s different now is that DiGi is giving discounts based on your total usage which is 25% off when you spend RM75 and RM50% off when you spend RM150 and above.

On top of that, 50% discount is given for Friends & Family calls & Internet Data usage during Happy Hours.

So, the new DG50 is heavily banging on the 50% off your bill every month (after usage of RM150) and also 50% off for Happy Hour calls and Internet.

Before you get excited, the 50% off your bills is very misleading. A quick check on their FAQ reveals the following:

7. Will I enjoy any discounts for calls and SMS to other networks made after RM75 or RM150?

No, the discount is only applicable for additional DiGi to DiGi calls / SMS made after RM75 or RM150.

So not only the discount is applicable to calls made AFTER reaching RM75 or RM150,  but it is strictly for calls and SMS to DiGi numbers only. Therefore there’s no way you can slash up to 50% your actual bill since the discount is applicable for usage AFTER hitting the selected spending range, not the entire bill.  Plus, a normal user would obviously make non-DiGi calls and SMS which is not going to be applicable for discount.

On the Happy Hour period, DiGi is only giving it between 4PM-6PM daily. Who talks to their friends and family during 4PM-6PM? Isn’t most people busy at work during that time? I don’t know about you but that’s certainly no time to chat with your buddies or family members, unless of course DiGi encourages such practice at the work place.

Another thing we noticed is that DiGi’s FAQ has a mistake on the Happy Hour section.

On the comparison of the new and old DG50, it shows that the Data discount is only applicable for the OLD DG50 instead of the new, which is obviously reversed.

Conclusion, DG50 is nothing to shout about and the discounted cost savings is nothing but a gimmick disguised with a bold claim of slashing your bill into half. Not forgetting their Happy Hour which isn’t sincerely done with customers in mind. In a nutshell, this is nothing but a cheap rehash of existing postpaid plan.

“We all love different things, but we all love savings…”

English Version:

Bahasa Malaysia Version:

Mandarin Version:

In case you’re wondering, the music in the background is “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers. He is also the same guy who sang “Just the two of us”.

The plan names of DG 20, DG 50, DG 150 & DG 250 may look like it represents the monthly commitment usage but it is actually different for the case of DG 20 & DG 250. DG 20 & DG  250 is actually monthly subscription based plans which is similar to monthly access fee.

The Rates

DG20

• 20 sen/minute for calls to all networks
• 15 sen/SMS to all networks
• RM20 Subscription Fee

DG50

• 13 sen/minute for calls to all networks
• 10 sen/SMS to all networks
• RM50 Monthly Commitment Fee

DG150

• 10 sen/minute for calls to all networks
• 10 sen/SMS to all networks
• FREE on-net calls & SMS if total usage exceeds RM150
• RM150 Monthly Commitment Fee

DG250

• FREE Domestic Calls & SMS to all networks (up to RM600/month)
• 10 sen/minute for calls & 10 sen/SMS for excess usage after RM600
• RM250 Subscription Fee

Monthly Commitment vs Subscription

The 4 may look the same but it should be noted that there is a difference between Monthly commitment and Subscription fee. At first, our first impression was that DG 20 would be the lowest postpaid plan but a closer check revealed that it is actually RM20 subscription fee + usage with no subscription fee waiver for a minimum usage. Who pays for subscription/access fee these days?

Super Plan for heavy users (Cakap dan SMS Banyak)

The DG250 plan looks like a heavy duty plan for those make calls more frequent than normal. RM250 subscription gives you RM600 worth of calls & usage. RM600 is equivalent to 100 hours (6000 minutes) of talk to all networks or 6000 SMS a month. Additional usage exceeding RM600 would be charged at 10 sen/minute.

Conclusion

It is interesting to see the reactions from other Maxis & Celcom after DiGi and U Mobile has launched its new postpaid line up. Will this spark another round of price war? We wonder how much longer can Malaysian telcos sustain by cutting their rates lower. What’s for sure is that consumers will be benefiting from it especially when MNP (Mobile Number Portability) is made available soon.

Links
DiGi New (i heart savings) Postpaid Plans
Yellow Heart Just Got Bigger
DiGi to introduce 4 new plans?
TheStar: New Packages to lfit DiGi postpaid user base

Shortly after the release of U Mobile’s new postpaid plans (U38, U68 & U98), DiGi is about to introduce some exciting new postpaid plans. From what was reported on NTV7 tonight, it seems that there would be 4 plans which one of which we believe is offering FREE domestic calls.

We would like to link the NTV7 report of DiGi’s new postpaid plans here but NTV7 site is in a revamp process for their 10th anniversary.

Check back here again for details.

Links
DiGi Postpaid: DG20, DG50, DG150 & DG250