Why Quantum Breakthroughs May Turn Industry Titans Into Dinosaurs
Quantum communication breakthroughs put real-world applications for quantum technology on a fast track to commercialization.
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Tom Dakich, CEO of Quantum Corridor, says quantum communication networks promise lightning-fast data transmission and unmatched security, revolutionizing telecom. But are we ready for this quantum leap?
Real-world applications for quantum technology are moving ever closer, but the breakthroughs that will put quantum research on a fast track to commercialization are found in quantum communication (QComm) networks. By pairing near-instantaneous transmission with massive throughput, QComm will offer extraordinary opportunities and challenges that will permanently disrupt the telecommunications industry.
Chip manufacturers already produce advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) that perform the parallel calculations needed for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. Quantum computing advances may be only a year away from bringing us quantum processing units (QPUs), which use the behavior of particles like photons or electrons to make calculations. QPUs calculate in qubits, which can represent many different quantum states, and so can solve certain problems extraordinarily faster than traditional chips, which use on/off states of electrical current that represent zeros or ones.
To link these quantum-based platforms efficiently, QComm networks will be required. Yet the vast, decades-old optical fiber infrastructure of modern telecommunications did not anticipate this need.
To take advantage of the coming speed breakthroughs, telecoms will need to partner with and invest in the innovators pushing quantum commercialization. Quantum-based networks will power extraordinary innovations across many fields, from chemistry and biology to materials science, AI, and machine learning.
Quantum Positioned to Resolve Speed, Security Barriers
By employing quantum states of light, QComm is emerging as the answer to two needs: speed and security.
When distributed compute clusters are upgraded to quantum compute clusters, as expected, QComm will be essential. In this environment, real-time transfer of vast amounts of information will be required. While research facilities and data centers have used quantum computers for 25 years, most computing and transmissions occur in individual labs unconnected to other labs. Quantum-speed networks will make those connections possible.
Solutions exist to ramp up the speed and capacity of today’s infrastructure, but not without investment in new technology. For example, coherent optical switches can transmit the entangled photons of a quantum network. Quantum Corridor has employed a coherent fiber-optic network to transmit classical data from Chicago to Hammond, Indiana, at 40 terabits per second (Tbps), or 40,000 times faster than the gigabit internet. By the end of the year, this coherent fiber-optic network will scale to a quantum-ready 1.2 petabits per second (Pbps)— equal to 600 billion pages of text transmitted every second, or nearly the entire data exchange of the internet backbone today (1.7 Pbps).
Coherent optics will provide existing fiber infrastructure, such as the State of Indiana’s 172-mile-long line of fiber-optic cable and the speed and capacity that quantum computing will need. Yet quantum data is prone to degrade over long distances. Developing long-distance networks will require an architecture to ensure that such communication is lossless. Space exploration ventures, AI entrepreneurs, and e-commerce hyperscalers will need this network to support their work.
Even before quantum computing clusters see wide adoption, existing applications may require more telecom capacity. Today, a Google search touches some 4,000 servers. Add complex AI modeling invoking machine learning algorithms, then add 4K video streaming and 8K virtual reality applications offered by the likes of Meta’s Oculus headset. These bandwidth requirements will strain the capacity of existing networks.
Higher telecom capacity also will enable enhanced encryption techniques to keep communications secure. Once quantum computers break classical protocols like SSL and TSL, advanced encryption techniques will be vital to spur research and commercialization in economic sectors, from financial services to pharmaceutical research to national defense. This vulnerability is not just theoretical. GPU miners already solve blockchain algorithms today, albeit slowly —a single, top-of-the-line GPU would need 1,000 years or more to solve one Bitcoin. QPU processors will radically change this calculation.
Information security is also advancing rapidly in both enterprise software and commercial applications, such as Apple’s Post Quantum Encryption (PQE) for the iMessage app. Classical techniques from the BB84 protocol to post-quantum cryptography algorithms will be supplemented by cryptographic techniques that involve quantum superposition. Whatever the method, telecom networks will need to support a higher level of security.
See More: Future Trends of AI-driven Network Optimization
Managed Networks Light the Path to a Quantum Internet
How will QComm networks emerge? In my view, given the pace of quantum breakthroughs and the exceptional amounts of experimentation, testing, and adaptation needed, they will arrive as purpose-built deployments, connecting the likes of defense contractors and facilities, major industrial researchers or biotechnology labs. As these next-generation networks arrive, they will link with QComm research sites, such as the Chicago area fiber network at Argonne National Laboratory.
And there are plenty of challenges left that will require major investment. A 2023 McKinsey analysis tallied the 2022 investment in quantum technology start-ups, including companies in quantum computing, communications, and sensing, at $2.35 billion. Investments fall into three categories:
- Components, ranging from lasers, detectors, cryostats, specialized fibers and other technologies.
- Hardware, including functional quantum repeaters to extend the range of these networks.
- Software, for applications and services.
To enable the flow of valuable and sensitive data, each type of investment must be American-made to comply with the Trade Agreements Act (TAA). Federal contracts will mandate edge security for devices that connect to the network. A future of more precise quantum sensors will put further demands on security, extending to the network’s components.
Through no fault of their own, in the last two decades and nearly half-trillion dollars spent migrating from copper to fiber optics. It is no criticism to see conventional providers are not structured to lead the quantum commercialization effort. Public policy will set performance standards and limit the risk of infiltration. This framework will take much work to achieve on distributed networks with many access points. Inevitably, separate quantum communication services will emerge.
The challenge for any quantum communication service provider will be to nurture today’s early-stage quantum technologies. The competition will not be about speed or bandwidth but about supporting commercial applications that could solve society’s most vexing problems.
Innovators that create a fertile ground for advanced communication between the smartest computers and the smartest people in the world will succeed. Telecoms, hyperscalers, and others will unquestionably benefit from this activity. The telecom titans will be welcomed as colleagues, investors, and partners who will help scale QComm into the future.
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