Telus Corp. has withdrawn its “adult content” service to cellphone customers, effective immediately, a Telus spokesman said Wednesday.

The company had come under a barrage of criticism after introducing the service that allowed adult cellular phone customers to download nude photographs and videos on a pay-per-view basis.

Telus, which launched the offering in January, acknowledged that it had received hundreds of complaints, but did not bow to the pressure until this week. Last Friday, Roman Catholic Archbishop Raymond Roussin said in Vancouver that he was considering cancelling contracts with Telus because its cell-phone offering took the “accessibility of pornographic material further into the public realm.”

Company spokesman Jim Johannsson said Wednesday that Telus “took the feedback to heart” and decided to cancel the service, for which it had charged interested customers between $3 and $4 for downloads of what the company called “adult content.”

The photographs and videos featured “full and partial nudity, but no sex,” Mr. Johannsson said.

Telus said customers were required to prove that they were, indeed, adults. The age-verification process was “very rigorous,” Mr. Johannsson said.

Telus initially justified the service by saying that it was only offering what is now universally available. It was the first major wireless carrier in North America to offer such a service.

“In the six weeks that the service had been up and running, we did have several thousand customers successfully work through the age verification process so that they could download content legally,” Mr. Johannsson said.

Rivals Bell Canada and Rogers Wireless do not sell adult content on their cell phones.

“We're in the business of introducing new products and services all the time. The telecom industry in Canada is intensely competitive,” Mr. Johannsson said. “An important part of launching any new product or service is reflecting on customer feedback. We received hundreds of calls . . . and we have taken that to heart.”

Mr. Johannsson said when Telus launched its “adult content” service, it did so without the fanfare of a news release or advertisements.

“It was announced very discreetly because adults who are looking for adult content tend to seek it out and find it. It's not the kind of thing companies need to promote or advertise.”

Cell-phone owners who want to view nude photographs or videos will still find a way, he said, “because today's cell phones are able to access the public internet.”

Mr. Johannsson said Wednesday that Telus prides itself on being a good corporate citizen. Asked how the company's image had been affected by all the recent exposure, he said “this has been a difficult time, no question.”