If you’re used to making cell phone calls wherever you travel, you might be surprised to learn that the data features on your phone might not come with that same seamless coverage. This week, Free Press submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission in support of a proposed rule that would require mobile data service providers to enter into roaming agreements on just and reasonable terms – the same way they are obligated to negotiate voice roaming agreements.

Expanded data roaming will benefit consumers in four ways:

1. The data you need, wherever you are.

Refusing to enter data roaming agreements with smaller carriers is just one of many ways the big wireless companies use their market power to keep would-be competitors out. Small and rural carriers have little negotiating power and have, thus far, not been able to form data roaming agreements that meet their customer’s demands for data. The FCC’s rule would force the big carriers to fairly negotiate data roaming agreements , making ubiquitous connectivity available to many more wireless customers.

2. More choices for quality, national mobile data services.

Establishing wireless service in a new area requires a big up-front investment in wireless spectrum and infrastructure – expenses the major cell phone companies are in a much better position to pay than their smaller competitors. Data roaming allows smaller, regional wireless companies to offer nationwide service without national infrastructure, which means more choices for consumers and pressure on companies like AT&T and Verizon to build networks that actually deliver on their promises for coverage.

3. Lower prices for data roaming.

Because there are so few national incumbent carriers with compatible technology in any given region, small providers seeking data roaming agreements face extraordinarily lopsided negotiating dynamics that make it difficult to negotiate a fair price. By extending automatic roaming obligations to mobile data services, the FCC can create a framework for negotiations that will lead to reasonable data roaming rates.

4. Lower prices for everyone – even if you never leave home.

Refusing to offer data roaming to smaller carriers, along with tactics like exclusive handset agreements and surprise contract extensions, allows incumbent wireless providers to use their current market power to continue their domination of the industry. Without sufficient competition for new customers, large carriers have little incentive to attempt to undercut each other’s prices (a situation illustrated by today’s largely parallel, and outrageous, pricing structures among the largest providers). By allowing smaller carriers to offer nationwide service to their regional customers and to expand into new territories over time, data roaming creates new competitors and greater potential for price competition on a variety of service offerings.

Making data roaming widely available and affordable will help foster competition, so consumers can choose a wireless carrier that provides the quality, features and price they want—and put pressure on the big carriers to do a better job. The FCC has a long way to go in making the wireless market competitive, and extending an automatic roaming obligation to data services is one of many important steps.