A groundbreaking milestone in the development of the quantum internet has been achieved, with two commercial telecommunications facilities successfully connected by a quantum network using existing fibre optic cables at room temperature.
A secure quantum internet could be on the way, with two commercial telecommunications facilities connected by a quantum network that used existing fibre optic cables at room temperature. This milestone marks an important step towards making the quantum internet a reality.
The quantum internet is an emerging technology that leverages quantum mechanics to enable secure and high-speed data transfer.
It uses quantum entanglement to encode and decode information, making it virtually unhackable.
This network has the potential to revolutionize global communication, enabling secure transactions, and facilitating breakthroughs in fields like medicine and finance.
Using Existing Fibre Optic Cables for Quantum Communications
For most quantum communications, extremely low temperatures are required to protect quantum particles from environmental disturbances. However, Mirko Pittaluga and his colleagues at Toshiba Europe Limited have successfully sent quantum information through optical fibre between two facilities in Kehl and Frankfurt, Germany, using existing fibre optic cables at room temperature.
Quantum communication leverages quantum mechanics to enable secure data transfer.
It relies on the principles of superposition and entanglement, allowing for virtually unbreakable encryption.
This technology has been experimentally proven to be more secure than classical encryption methods.
In 2016, China successfully demonstrated a quantum-encrypted message transmission over 1,200 kilometers.
Quantum communication holds promise for secure global data exchange.
The team’s setup used a third station midway between the two endpoints, which played a similar role to traditional ‘quantum repeaters’ that are needed for long-distance quantum communications. This setup allowed the network to outperform previously tested connections between the two endpoints. The use of existing fibre and devices that can be easily integrated into racks housing traditional telecommunications equipment strengthens the case for the quantum internet becoming a plug-and-play operation.
Reducing Costs and Energy Requirements
The researchers also used photon detectors that are much less costly than those used in past experiments, which brings down both the cost and energy requirements of the new network. According to Raja Yehia at the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Spain, this approach makes the use of quantum communication protocols on commercially available equipment more feasible.
‘This is a significant step forward,’ said Prem Kumar at Northwestern University, ‘but the network would need to exchange information faster for it to be fully practical.’ Mehdi Namazi at Qunnect, a quantum communication start-up, sees potential benefits for future networks of quantum computers or sensors, but notes that the current setup is not as efficient as a true quantum repeater.
Quantum communication leverages quantum mechanics to enable secure data transfer.
It uses entangled particles to encode and decode messages, making eavesdropping impossible.
This method is theoretically unbreakable, as any attempt to intercept the message would disturb the entanglement, alerting the sender.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a popular application of quantum communication, used for secure data exchange between two parties.
A Major Leap Towards Practical Quantum Communications
The successful connection of two commercial telecommunications facilities using existing fibre optic cables marks an important milestone in the development of the quantum internet. As the technology continues to advance, we can expect to see more practical applications of quantum communications in the near future.
- newscientist.com | Ultra secure quantum data sent over existing internet cables
