Multiple news sources report Bryant made the announcement this week at a meeting of business and community leaders in Gulfport.

Bryant says the money will come from BP and other companies responsible for 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Officials say it will be used as leverage to get a private company to invest in broadband.

Bryant hopes to get the project started but the timeline depends on when the companies pay the fines, penalties and settlements for their roles in the catastrophe that spewed millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Bryant and Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes say the big dividend of investing in broadband is economic development.