Shares in Telus Corp., Western Canada’s leading telecommunications operator, were trading 2.64% higher today, after the company reported higher profits and announced plans to increase its dividend by approximately 10% in each of the next two years.

A jump in wireless data usage was largely responsible for a 19% increase in Telus’ profits, which came in at $328 million during the first quarter of 2011, up from $273 million in the first three months of last year. Revenue also increased, from $2.3 billion to $2.5 billion, with wireless data sales along showing a 44% rise.

Telus added 52,000 new postpaid wireless customers during the first quarter, but lost approximately 20,000 prepaid users during the same time. This seems to suggest that many occasional cell phone users with “pay-as-you-go” accounts are switching to monthly subscriptions as they find themselves using their mobile devices more often and for functions other than simple phone calls.

The company applauded Manitoba’s Consumer Protection Office for holding a public consultation on consumer protection measures in the wireless market, noting that it is essential that customers are able to “vote with their feet” and switch carriers without facing unexpected contract termination fees.

“As long-standing champions of wireless choice for Canadians, we’re glad to see that the Manitoba Consumer Protection Office is taking strides to protect consumers from unfair wireless practices and is joining Quebec in raising the bar for the rest of Canada,” commented Wind Chairman, Anthony Lacavera.

Quebec’s consumer protection legislation for cell phone users, Bill 60, was passed by the provincial legislature last August.

Microsat Systems, a Canadian spacecraft systems manufacturer, has announced plans to launch 78 small communications satellites with the aim of enhancing high-speed internet availability.

The so-called “ComStellation” system will act as a backhaul, linking various local carriers with the global fiber-optic broadband infrastructure so as to improve the bandwidth and reach of high-speed internet services.

“Here in Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is pushing to extend high-speed internet connections to all Canadians,” noted Microsat president and CEO, David Cooper. “Industry estimates to extend that fiber network are on the order of seven billion dollars and will take 10 years to implement. CommStellation [on the other hand] will be about one-tenth of that cost and be twice as fast to implement.”

Microsat expects to deploy the CommStellation system by 2015. Details on financing for the project have not been released.

Wind Mobile is celebrating the one-year anniversary of its commercial launch, making it the first of several new Canadian wireless competitors to do so.

Wind initially rolled out services in Toronto and Calgary on December 16, 2009, and launched networks in Edmonton, Ottawa, and Vancouver over the course of 2010. The company had some 140,000 customers as of last month.

“Getting Wind out the gate in the five markets we have launched is obviously amazing and bringing the first real competition in those markets in over a decade has been great,” commented Wind chairman, Anthony Lacavera. “We still have a long way to go, we still have a lot of work to do but we’ve made a lot of progress.”

In the year ahead, Wind plans to start going after the business telecom market.

“For 2011, we will be rolling out to small and medium-sized businesses,” Lacavera said. “We’re going to be offering a wireless bundle, which includes of course the Internet and all of the hosting services — their office Internet and their office phone services — in addition to mobile.”

This will be made possible through a partnership with OneConnect, which provides IP and telecommunications services to small and medium-sized business and is owned by Wind’s parent company, Globalive.

Bankrupt network equipment maker, Nortel Networks, is reportedly planning to auction off its massive portfolio of intellectual property within a few weeks.

Sources suggest that the company has divided its 4,000 technology patents into various blocks, including networking infrastructure and wireless technology.

Nortel itslef has previously confirmed that the patents are for sale, but refused to comment on the most recent reports, noting that the sale process is confidential.

Google and Apple are widely expected to bid on the Nortel patents and Research In Motion has also shown some interest.