US delegation members for international telecom treaty talks revealed

Representatives from Google, Cisco, Facebook, Microsoft and AT&T will join Obama administration officials at a December conference in Dubai to negotiate the terms of an international telecommunications treaty.

The industry members are part of the 95-person delegation representing the United States as it opposes potential efforts to expand a United Nations agency's authority over the management of the Internet during the upcoming treaty talks. They will join a group of officials from the State Department, Department of Defense, Federal Communications Commission and other agencies, along with a team of telecommunications attorneys from Wiley Rein and representatives from advocacy groups and trade organizations. 

Countries from around the world will convene in Dubai to update the International Telecommunications Regulations treaty for the first time since 1988. The treaty will govern how voice, video and Web traffic will be managed as it travels across international borders.

Amazon, Intel, Juniper Networks, PayPal, Sony, TMG Telecom, Verizon, Ericsson and Go Daddy also have representatives on the U.S. delegation, while consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge is sending two representatives.

Members of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, TechAmerica and National Cable and Telecommunications Association will also be on hand in Dubai. In addition, a representative from dotGAY LLC, a corporation advocating for a "dot gay" domain name on the Web, is part of the U.S. delegation.

Over the last few months, U.S. officials have been working hard to drum up support for its treaty proposals.

U.S. Ambassador Terry Kramer warned last week that a controversial proposal from a trade group of European telecom companies is gaining momentum in African and Arab states. The proposal could force Google, Facebook, Netflix and other websites to pay fees to network operators for carrying their content.