The U.S. government should launch a new program that provides grants and loans for broadband providers to extend service to rural areas, a top executive at Verizon said Monday.

The United States should use as a model a state program called ConnectKentucky, which has provided 94% of Kentucky residents with broadband options, said Tom Tauke, Verizon's executive vice president for public affairs, policy and communications.

Kentucky, a state with large rural areas and chunks of hilly terrain, expects to provide about 99% of its residents with a broadband carrier by the end of the year, Tauke said.

The rest of the nation likely won't reach President Bush's goal of universal broadband access by the end of 2007, Tauke said. The United States needs to look at broadband incentive programs "sooner rather than later," he said.

Broadband access can have a large impact on local economies and services such as healthcare, Tauke said.

The new program proposed by Verizon could use some existing funding, including redirecting some funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS), which had a 2006 budget of $6.1 billion, he said. The RUS now subsidizes several types of utilities, including broadband, electricity, distance learning and telemedicine.

New funds may also be needed, Tauke said, although he didn't provide specific numbers at a press briefing.

Part of the problem is there's no good measure of how many U.S. residents have access to broadband, Tauke said. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission released a report Jan. 31 saying 99% of all U.S. postal codes had at least one broadband provider, but critics have noted that the FCC would count a postal code if a provider offered service to just a handful of residents.

Tauke called for a comprehensive study of what broadband gaps exist. "We just don't know today who has broadband and who doesn't," he said.

Verizon has not yet pitched the idea to most lawmakers, Tauke said.

The telecom giant also called on the U.S. Congress to make changes the Universal Service Fund program, a $4 billion program that subsidizes telephone access in rural and poor areas. Instead of providing USF funds to multiple carriers, the U.S. government should cap USF at its current funding levels, and require carriers to bid to provide service in areas where subsidies are needed, Tauke said.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.