A modest increase in U.S. broadband adoption would have an annual economic impact of US$134 billion, according to a study released Thursday.

A 7 percent increase in broadband adoption would create 2.4 million jobs across the U.S., would save $662 million in health-care costs and $6.4 billion in vehicle mileage, among other savings, according to the study, released by Connected Nation, a nonprofit group focused on improving broadband adoption across the U.S.

A broadband stimulus package would pump nearly as much money into the U.S. economy as an economic stimulus package recently passed by the U.S. Congress, said Brian Mefford, Connected Nation's CEO. A proposal being considered as part of a farm bill before Congress would allow immediate depreciation for investment in broadband infrastructure and "provide a jolt to the nation's economy in the near term," Mefford said.

Some lawmakers and conservative think tanks have opposed calls to create a wide-ranging national broadband policy, Mefford said. However, the Connected Nation model, patterned after a program in Kentucky, focuses more on broadband adoption and local needs than huge, government-funded programs, he said. "It's a consensus-type approach," Mefford said.

The ConnectKentucky model that spawned Connected Nation is "bringing in jobs," said Mark McElroy, Connected Nation's chief operating officer and senior vice president for communications. Through ConnectKentucky, the state has adopted broadband 7 percent faster than it would have without the program, according to the organization.

The Connected Nation study estimates the U.S. would gain $92 billion in new wages from the 2.4 million jobs created through broadband growth. Using broadband for health-care services has saved an average of more than $200 per person per year in Kentucky, and residents there drove more than 100 fewer hours per month because of transactions done online, according to the study.

In addition to the healthcare and mileage savings, U.S. residents would save 3.8 billion hours a year by conducting transactions online, at a cost-savings of $35.2 billion, according to the study.

Kentucky was one of the lowest states in the nation for broadband adoption when ConnectKentucky began in 2002, Mefford said. In January 2004, only 60 percent of Kentucky residents had access to broadband; at the end of 2007, 95 percent did, according to the study.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.