Cell Service Providers, Let My People Go

Anyone who tells you that you'll be able to buy an Apple (AAPL Quote) iPhone for $499 is talking out of his hat. This year's trendiest gadget will set you back a lot more than that -- because to get one you'll have to sign up for a two-year wireless contract at AT&T (T Quote) as well.

Price? To be announced.

This is exactly the kind of cozy corporate deal that Congressman Ed Markey wants to break up. The chairman of the House subcommittee on telecommunications, in an exclusive interview with TheStreet.com, says he is pressing for the biggest shake-up in the mobile telecoms market in a generation.

In a nutshell: He wants to force the wireless companies to unlock all future iPhones and other handsets so you can use them from Day 1 on any network you please.

Move over, Steve Jobs. This would be truly revolutionary.

"We need to unbundle phones," Markey says. "The consumer should be king and should be able to take their device with them, to whichever network provider is offering them a better deal."

Bravo!

Setting the consumer free should mean lower prices and more choice, Markey points out. And, he adds, it should spur more innovation in handsets and mobile services.

"If we did have device mobility, it would allow for more devices that have VoIP [voice over Internet protocol] and Wi-Fi and Wi-Max," he says. "This will unleash innovation in the wireless market -- the more portable these devices are, the more innovation we'll see."

To watch Gregg Greenberg's video take of this column, click here.