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At the National Conference for Media Reform, one thing was clear to those of us who attended from abroad: This conference might need a new name. Media reform is not just a national concern, but an issue that crosses borders and affects communities around the world.

Who controls the Internet?

That question rests uneasily at the center of debates this week at the World Conference on International Telecommunications in Dubai.

The 12-day wonkfest has brought together representatives from more than 150 U.N. member states to craft global rules for the Internet. And that's where the trouble begins.

Two years ago, the Costa Rica Constitutional Court declared that access to the Internet is a fundamental right. And earlier this year, Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla gave a stirring speech in which she called the Internet "the hope of an integrated world without frontiers, a common world without controlling owners, a world of opportunities and equality." Now President Chinchilla has signed the Declaration of Internet Freedom.

The Declaration of Internet Freedom, which was launched earlier this year by a diverse coalition of open Internet advocates, has been signed by more than 2,000 organizations and companies. And the names keep rolling in.

This week, yet another member of Congress — Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine — joined Reps. Anna Eshoo, Darrell Issa and Jared Polis and Sen. Ron Wyden in adding her support.