How often do you open the paper and see an intelligent quote from a politician on technology policy? I was pleasantly surprised to see just that today in a Boston Globe article. Massachusetts Congressman Ed Markey is taking over the House subcommittee on telecommunications, and on the issue of net neutrality, Markey says,

Innovations such as the Web browser, search engines, and the Internet did not emerge from large established companies, and forcing firms to pay more to reach users would stifle creativity

I think that’s a no-brainer, although it seems to be controversial in some big business circles.

What could be really interesting is if this principle were to be applied to the wireless industry. We have seen barely a trickle of mobile location services in the last decade for no other reason than there is no concept of net neutrality in mobile data networks. You have to pay to play, and you have to make separate deals with every wireless provider out there to get an application to a phone. This is clearly stifling innovation in the mapping industry.

Congressman Markey, please bring net neutrality to our cell phones!