U.S. regulators today adopted data roaming rules designed to allow smartphone users to access the Internet in areas across the country not covered by their wireless carriers, Reuters reported.

The rules, set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in a 3-2 vote, will force wireless carriers such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless to offer “reasonable” roaming rates.

“Mobile providers must be able to offer nationwide voice and data plans to have any chance of competing in today’s market,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said at the agency’s meeting.

But evidence from wireless carriers shows that roaming deals are not widely offered on commercially reasonable terms, Genachowski said.

AT&T’s proposed $39 billion bid for Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile USA would concentrate 80 percent of U.S. wireless contract costumers in just two companies: AT&T/T-Mobile and Verizon. Smaller and rural carriers have pushed for data roaming rules to prevent the largest wireless carriers from shutting them out of nationwide broadband connectivity.