February 13, 2007 | Sex & Society

Canadian cellco offers porn

While North American porn lovers are used to feeding their X-rated cravings with a few taps of the computer keyboard or TV remote, until now cell phone porn has remained strictly verboten. Available for years in Europe, cell porn has finally established a beachhead in Canada, thanks to Telus, the country's second largest phone company, which began selling access to adult content last month.

Telus's wireless division did not publicly announce its decision to make porn available on its network, according to Toronto's Globe and Mail, but it has received dozens of complaints from customers who've discovered its new service. One of those complaints, reports the Victoria Times Colonist, is from Archbishop Raymond Roussin, of Vancouver, who called Telus's move "disappointing and disturbing" and suggested that good Catholics should consider switching to another phone service.

Telus so far has stood by its decision and insists it is only giving customers something they already have access to.

"The reality is [porn is] already out there on today's handsets that are equipped with Internet browsers," said Telus spokesperson Jim Johannsson.

Adult downloads on Telus's system, including both pictures and video, cost between $3 and $4  and require age verification via full name and credit card number. Parents can prevent their children from accessing adult content by turning off the Web browsers on their phone, says Johannsson.

"We can't make adult content go away," he said. "What we can do is equip parents with the information they need to make informed choices and the tools to manage the risks."

This turn of events will no doubt be noticed south of the border: so far no US cell phone company allows porn through its networks due to pressures to keep the product "family friendly."

The world market for mobile pornography is expected to generate $14.5 billion (U.S.) in revenue by 2011, according to Juniper Research. None of that is from the US -- yet. In the mean time, if your call your Canadian bud and get a busy signal, he may just be sampling the goods!

• Naked ambitions put Telus on the spot [Globe and Mail]
• Telus cellphone pornography service has Archbishop threatening to hang up [Victoria Times Colonist]