VANCOUVER, British Columbia—Canadian telecommunications company Telus has announced a partnership with mobile virtual network operator Amp’d Mobile Inc. in which Telus subscribers will have access to Amp’d services and content and Telus will manage most of the business operations.
Meanwhile, Telus Ventures, Telus’ venture investment division, announced that it made a $7.5 million equity investment in Amp’d Mobile.
Telus and Amp’d Mobile explained that the relationship is not a typical MVNO relationship, in which Amp’d would essentially lease space on Telus’ network. Instead, the brand will be called “Amp’d powered by Telus” and “customers will have a direct service relationship with Telus, and will have access to premium Amp’d services and content via Telus,” the companies said. Amp’d is responsible for branding and marketing efforts (including a Canadian Web site, www.ampd.ca) and providing the content; Telus will handle sales, distribution, customer care and pricing.
Telus said it has rolled out CDMA EV-DO service in 19 Canadian communities over the past nine months and that Amp’d products will be sold within those coverage areas.
In a company statement, Telus said that “with its success in the U.S. market as a premium mobile brand, we believe partnering with Amp’d represents a tremendous opportunity to set a new standard for mobile entertainment in Canada.”
