Which Operator offers the best family @ supplementary plan?

Celcom focus on a single family plan while Maxis and Digi offer two family plan variants.
The table below summarizes the different plans:

Comparison tables for the different family plans can be found on the respective Operator websites. But do not get satisfied with what they claim. They are comparing obsolete competitor plans. This article is true as of November 2008, based on the information given on the Operators' websites.
Let's analyze.

Overview

The Celcom 1+5 Family Plan requires customer first to subscribe to any Celcom postpaid plans (CEP20, CEP50, CEP250), and he will be eligible to extend his account up to 5 supplementary lines for a monthly fee of RM5 per line.

Maxis promotes two family plans: the Family Plus 30 and the Value Plus Family. Both requires a monthly commitment of RM30 per line. The difference between the two is that, the Family Plus 30 is tied with the postpaid Value Plus 50 principal plan, while the Value Plus Family is tied with the higher commitment postpaid plans (VP80 and beyond). The difference between both family plans resides on the call charges.

DiGi promotes two family plans which emulate both its competitors' offers: the Family Basic and 1 Family Plan. The first imposes a monthly fee of RM10 per supplementary which can be discounted based on usage, while the latter imposes a monthly commitment of RM30 per supplementary line.
The discount structure on the Digi Family Basic Plan monthly fee is given below:

Characteristics

With Celcom 1+5, calls and SMS/MMS within family members are free (that is, until 40hours of talk time and 2000 SMS/MMS).

Maxis allows free calls and SMS among family members capped at 15 hour call and 1500 SMS. There is a small note on the Maxis website in this section indicating that Maxis allows up to 10 supplementary lines under the family plan.

Digi Family Basic offers 35% discount to calls and SMS among family members. Digi 1 Family allows free call only from the principal line to supplementary lines and vice versa. No cap is indicated. [ omission: but the free call is not offered between supplementary lines. ] [Update 1 Jan: According to Digi customer care and user testimonial, call between supplementary lines is free.]

Call and SMS Charges

Celcom charges a flat 30sen/min for calls outside its family plan, and 10sen for SMS.

Maxis charges 15sen/min for calls within Maxis, and 20sen/min outside Maxis for the Family Plus 30 Plan. For Value Plus Family, it charges according to the plan subscribed by the Principal Line. To recall, VP80 basically charges 12sen/min on-net and 15sen/min off-net, while VP150 charges 10sen/min on-net and 12sen/min off-net.
SMS is charged at 5sen inter Maxis, and 15sen outside Maxis.

Digi charges 15sen/min for calls within Digi, and 30sen/min outside Digi for the Family Basic Plan. 1 Family charges 13sen/min across all network.
SMS is charged at 5sen inter Digi, and 15sen outside Digi.

Miscellaneous

Supplementary lines under the Maxis commitment based family plan are allowed to share usage among each other. Digi does not offer the flexibility of commitment sharing.

Analysis

The proposed plans by all three Operators have their advantages and inconveniences. Celcom seems to have the best inter-family call and SMS arrangement, although non-family call is comparatively more expensive at flat rate 30sen/min. Digi does not state any cap for its free inter-family call . Maxis has the best non-family call arrangement, depending on the plan subscribed by the principal.
Which family plan demands huge spending? The table below illustrates the minimum spending (in RM) required by each plans based on the number of supplementary lines taken:

It can be argued that the commitment would turn into service usage, therefore a commitment feels more worthwhile than a fix service fee which does not translate into actual usage. But adhering to a minimum commitment would mean that customer must meet the usage and pay the minimum price no matter what to avoid loss. If the usage behaviour of a customer is pre-determined, than there is no harm for him subscribing to a commitment plan. Maxis allows commitment sharing between family lines, so the burden of individual line commitment is lesser.

From my frank analysis, I am opinionated to the fact that Celcom 1+5 suits best for a group with heavy inter-family usage, with the Principal Line would be doing the most non-family calls/SMS. The Celcom Executive Plan provides further discounts for heavy usage. The Celcom 1+5 is also cheaper to maintain at low usage.

Maxis family plans and Digi 1 Family are suited for heavy usage users, and I am inclined towards Maxis Family Plan if non-family calls are heavy against inter family calls, since the rate would follow the Principal Line rate. Even the Digi Family Basic Plan encourages heavy usage, which is a condition for the monthly fee waiver.

Due to the different characteristics of the available plans, the option a family plan would depend pretty much on your family's usage behaviour.

Which is the best plan for the principal line? see postpaid plan comparison

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