Google plans on making free linear television channels available through its Chromecast technology, an initiative that could start either this fall or early next year, insiders say. Viewers would use the Chromecast menu for live television to access the content.

Ampersand, owned by Comcast, Charter Communications and Cox Communications, is offering a Total TV Measurement system that gathers viewing data from 40 million set-top boxes. The company aims to help coordinate campaigns across multiple platforms and cut down on the number of times viewers see the same advertisements.

A survey from Whip Media shows consumers pay for 4.7 subscription streaming services on average, but only plan on adding one more, with library content an important influence for more than 90%. Most respondents cited cost as a restraining factor.

Hosts of late-night comedy shows will dedicate their programming to climate change on Sept. 22, one of the days in Climate Week NYC. Steve Bodow, the effort's coordinator, said that "this incredible group of shows coming together makes a statement about the scale and urgency of the world's hottest problem."

Comcast Business Enterprise Solutions is providing enterprises with cybersecurity services, including virtual desktop infrastructures, multi-factor authentication and zero-trust architectures. Senior Vice President Glenn Katz says that securing the "middle portion" of networks is the largest challenge companies face.

Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Brendan Carr wants big tech companies to cover the cost of Universal Service Fund subsides. Carr points to a report from Hal Singer and Ted Tatos that finds the current way of assessing telecom services for USF fees is not sustainable.

Aparna Khurjekar of Verizon Business Markets says Verizon's fiber rollouts are "always associated with 5G" and the company sees 5G as "the future of bandwidth connectivity."

The federal government would earmark $10 billion in grants to help improve 911 centers by allowing them to accept videos, photos and texts under a bill introduced by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Catherine Cortez Masto , D-Nev. A House Committee this week passed its own $10 billion funding measure for next-generation 911 upgrades as an element of a spending package valued at $3.5 trillion.

The White House is said to be drawing up a series of actions aimed at preventing hackers from accepting ransomware payments via digital currency through the use of sanctions and warnings to businesses on its risks, The Wall Street Journal reports. The Treasury Department expects to introduce sanctions by next week and unveil rules later in the year aimed at discouraging the use of cryptocurrency to pay off hackers.

The Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., will conduct research in a variety of fields using 5G communications and multi-access edge computing technology from AT&T Public Sector and FirstNet. The US Navy's graduate school is working on connecting unmanned vehicles to operate in the sea, on the ground and in the air.