The service, which Telus quietly launched Jan. 8, allows customers to download adult-oriented videos or pictures for an average price of $3 to $4 per item.
Telus spokesman Jim Johannsson said the decision to distribute adult content was a pragmatic one for the company, which recognized that many customers already had access to adult material through mobile because of phones equipped with Internet capabilities.
“So we've introduced — in a very responsible way — adult content that's in behind proper age verification and that's compliant with provincial standards and regulations,” Johannsson said.
According to Johannsson, Telus, which is able to track Google Internet searches made over its mobile network, expects strong earnings from adult content.
“We can't see at an individual level, but we can tell on an aggregate level if they're going to Google or Canoe, and we could see they were heading to adult-oriented websites,” he said. “There is a segment of the population that is interested in that content.”
Spokesmen for Rogers Communications and Bell Canada, two other leading Canadian telecommunications companies, said their firms did not offer adult content. But both firms said they would do what it takes to remain competitive, declining to comment ahead of time on new services that might be in the works.
Johannsson said he doesn’t know what other North American communications companies are doing about adult content, explaining that it’s “not the kind of thing people advertise.”
“But we're fairly certain that if our competitors in Canada haven't launched it, they will soon,” he said. “Same in the U.S.”