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The Communications Workers of America is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to include Web companies like Google Inc. (GOOG) in new Internet rules, signaling increasing pressure on regulators to tread carefully in imposing the regulations.

The proposed open Internet rule is slated for an FCC vote next week. The rule would prevent Internet companies such as Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) or AT&T Inc. (T) from selectively blocking or slowing certain Web content, and would require providers to disclose how they manage their networks.

In a letter sent to the FCC Thursday, CWA said the rule's principles on competition and transparency should apply to all Internet participants, "including network providers, application and service providers, and content providers."

AT&T and other Internet service providers are concerned that the "net neutrality" rules now circulating at the FCC will apply only to them and not firms like Google.

CWA pointed out that Google employs 10 times fewer people than AT&T and invests significantly less than AT&T in broadband infrastructure.

CWA has some 300,000 members that are employees of telecom firms like AT&T and Verizon as well as network manufacturers like Alcatel-Lucent (ALU).

CWA Telecommunications Policy Director Debbie Goldman said the union needed to get in front of the net neutrality debate before the FCC rule becomes a hindrance to private investment.

"We began to get very concerned that it was going to have a negative impact on investment, which in this industry means hundreds of thousands of our members' jobs," Goldman said. "We need a reasoned dialogue."

CWA wants to ensure that Internet service providers like AT&T and Verizon have a level playing field against companies like Google in terms of Internet regulation.

That could be a tall order. The FCC's jurisdiction over Web companies like Google is debatable, and probably will be determined in court, while its authority over Internet service providers is more clear-cut.

Google's Washington Telecom and Media Counsel Richard Whitt said it is "frightening" to argue that "all online software applications, content, and viewpoints must be subject for the first time to FCC regulation."

CWA's Goldman countered that the FCC has the authority to impose rules on Internet applications because those products are information services under telecom law.

CWA also says the new Internet rule should have "robust carve-outs" for ISPs to manage their networks.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has said the rule will allow ISPs to manage their networks to ensure smooth performance during peak traffic times, but network providers and manufacturers are worried that any new regulations could hamper their activities.

Alcatel-Lucent and other manufacturers, including Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and Motorola Inc. (MOT), sent a separate letter to the FCC Thursday saying new Internet regulations could "adversely impact those of us who supply vital network services, networking gear, and other devices and equipment used in building and maintaining networks."

Major telecom associations sent the FCC a different letter Thursday expressing concern that the draft proposal "apparently contains highly controversial conclusions" about the broadband market.

The letter, signed by USTelecom, CTIA-The Wireless Association, The Telecommunications Industry Association, and the Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance, said Genachowski should "develop consensus on the key issues and avoid conclusions that would cause divisions inside and outside the Commission."

Based on earlier statements from the commissioners at the five-member body, it is possible the Internet proposal could be approved on a party-line vote.

-By Fawn Johnson, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9263; fawn.johnson@dowjones.com