LAS VEGAS--FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn told Hillicon Valley what impressed her most on the CES show floor. Apparently, 3-D video left an impression.

LAS VEGAS--Usage-based pricing models for wireless services may be a way to ease some congestion on cellphone networks, FCC Commissioners said today.

Verizon Wireless said it will likely have usage-based pricing for services on its LTE network, a faster wireless network it is rolling out later this year. That's because consumers will be able to connect to the network devices they did not buy in Verizon stores. So customers will be charged a base rate for using the network and will be charged based on who much bandwidth they use over a multitude of products, like laptops, e-readers, cellphones and appliances. Other carriers will likely follow suite on their own high-speed networks. Read more...

LAS VEGAS -- Federal Communications Commission members today acknowledged a setback for net neutrality regulations, a day after a federal court questioned the agency's authority to police Internet traffic.

"It sounds like it did not go well at all for the FCC," said Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell on a panel I moderated here at the Consumer Electronics Show. McDowell voted against a 2008 decision to order Comcast to stop slowing traffic to file-sharing sites.

Comcast appealed that decision, saying the FCC's "open Internet" principles are not codified and therefore not enforcable. A U.S. Federal Appeals Court panel of judges yesterday focused its questioning of the FCC on its jurisdiction to enact any Internet regulations in the first place.

LAS VEGAS--Capitol Hill staffers who made the trek to the Nevada desert for CES barely had time to see the new gadgets and devices on display here before having to jet back to Washington.

Under the lobbying ethics rules, lawmakers and their aides can only attend a sponsored event for 24 hours. That means they have to cram as much work into a single day as possible, and they often miss out on important panels and demos.

At a show like CES, where more than 2,500 companies are hawking their wares, the 24-hour rule is especially limiting. For staffers that focus on telecom and technology issues in Congress, seeing new business models and services that could change an industry is hugely important. But they have to split their time between the show floor and the policy discussions happening down the hall. Read more...

LAS VEGAS--I caught up with Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) today to ask him about Sillicon Valley, how government can spur innovation and the lobbying ethics rules that discouraged some Washington folks from making the trip to the show.

Take a look.

LAS VEGAS—Neither the Obama administration nor Congress will block Comcast's bid for NBC Universal, .Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said today.

"I think it will go through," he said here at the Consumer Electronics Show, "Congress is not yet taking a hard turn in terms of how big companies can be."

LAS VEGAS--The FCC is not relenting in its quest to take unused spectrum from broadcasters and government agencies.

Chairman Julius Genachowski told reporters here "all options are still on the table" when it comes to finding new sources of airwaves for more wireless broadband services.

"I challenge anyone to demonstrate that there is enough spectrum to satisfy all the needs of the country at this time," he said. Read more...

LAS VEGAS — Washington officials have crowded the Strip for this week's Consumer Electronics Show, a sign of the tightening relationship between Silicon Valley and Washington.

Many more lawmakers, administration officials and regulators are attending the annual show than in previous years, and are a presence at official and unofficial events.

Silicon Valley is a prime source of campaign cash for politicians of both parties, and some of the tech world’s biggest figures were early supporters of President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.

LAS VEGAS--FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the government will require electronics manufacturers to make digital media safer for kids if the private sector does not "step up" to develop to such technologies on their own.

Genachowski was being interviewed by Consumer Electronics Association CEO Gary Shapiro today at CES when he said parents are facing unprecedented challenges in protecting children from inappropriate material on the Internet, cable and TV channels. He wants technology companies to find ways for parents to have more control over what kids are exposed to when they surf the Web.

"When I was a kid, parents were concerned about media and basically that meant worrying about the TV in the house that had a few over the air channels," Genachowski said. Read more...