BT and Toshiba built the world's first quantum-secure commercial metro network on standard fiber cables for EY, securely transmitting the consultancy's data between the London Bridge and Canary Wharf sites.
The partners say the network is a big step forward for the commercialization of the technology and for the UK government's ambition to be a "quantum" economy.
BT will operate the network using the Openreach fiber network and provide a range of secure quantum services, while Toshiba will provide key management hardware and software. EY will use the infrastructure to protect its own data and demonstrate the usefulness of the technology to its clients.
“Quantum technologies are expected to have a profound impact on the way society and businesses operate in the future, but they are notoriously complex to understand, develop and build: in particular, ensuring that end-to-end designs comply with the strict security requirements of the market. ”, said Howard Watson, CTO of BT.
"I am extremely proud that BT and Toshiba have successfully teamed up to deliver this unique network, and with EY as our first trial client, we are paving the way for future commercial exploration of quantum technologies and their use in business and social applications in the future."
Sales network
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology hopes to address the challenge traditional security systems face in the rapidly developing field of quantum computing.
While classical computing architectures store information in binary bits (1 or 0), quantum computing uses the ability of subatomic particles to exist in multiple states at the same time. This means that quantum computers can store much more information and solve problems much faster.
QKD is a supposedly "tamper-proof" technique for sharing encryption keys between locations using a single stream of photons. Multiplexing compatibility allows both data and keys to be transmitted over the same fiber, essentially doubling the capacity of the network and allowing the distribution of 1000 keys per second.
BT and Toshiba say that QKD and other quantum techniques will become increasingly important in combating the threat of quantum cyberattacks, which could be used to break traditional encryption methods as soon as five years, and certainly within a decade.
“Quantum technology creates significant new opportunities for businesses, but presents potential risks,” said Praveen Shankar, managing partner of technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) at EY UK and Ireland. “Quantum-secure data transmission represents the next big thing in data protection, an essential element of doing business in a digital economy. Our work with two of the world's leading technology innovators will allow us to demonstrate the power of quantum technology to both EY and our clients.
quantum ambition
The UK government has expressed a desire to be at the forefront of the field, believing it can play a vital role in the connected economy and accelerate Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) deployments. A National Quantum Computing Center (NQCC) is scheduled to open in 2022 as part of the €1 billion National Quantum Technologies Programme.
However, BT says more work is needed if this ambition is to be achieved.
"This is an important moment in the UK's journey towards a quantum economy, but we're not there yet," Watson added. “New investment commitments will be needed to expand the study of the quantum technologies that will contribute to this new economy, including quantum computing, quantum cryptography, and quantum communications.
"We look forward to working with our government and industry partners to build on the momentum BT has started and shape the UK's quantum strategy."